4/14/12 Summer Heat Returns Again

Once again, a major warm up will be expected across Boston this weekend and on the Patriots Day Holiday on Monday, which does not bode well for Marathon Runners.  Expect summer like heat to be in place across much of southern New England until Wednesday.

For today, Saturday,  the last of the cool air will be pushed out and we can expect most areas to rise into the lower 70s.

A south wind will keep south coastal areas cooler as the wind blows in off of the ocean.

The battle between summer and spring will play out along a cold front slowly approaching from the midwest into early next week, but most of the active weather and colder air will get pushed north and a return to normal temperatures return by mid week.

A chance for an evening Thunderstorm is possible each evening and overnight.

Tropical Update - Possible Alberto to form Next Week, no threat to land

A cold front that will push off the US coast will stall over the warm waters of the Atlantic early next week with a wave of low pressure forming along it, roughly 1100 miles east of Florida.  This low will sit and could take on tropical or subtropical characteristics, with winds around 55 mph.

No threat to any land is expected.  If it gets above 39 mph, it would be named Alberto. (if it gains enough tropical characteristics, which the models do hint at.)

Model satellite image showing what looks to be a well defined semi-tropical low 1100 miles east of Florida early next week.

Model Surface map and precipitation, showing banding features, which is typical of a semi-tropical system.

In the month of April, two other sub tropical cyclones have formed in 1992 and in 2002.

4/11/12 Summer comes back for the weekend!

A stubborn area of cold low pressure over Canada will bring more of an influence to our weather today and tomorrow as it slowly begins to move south and east and eventually out to sea late on Thursday.

The cold air continues to filter in as it rotates around the low pressure.

The air aloft is quite cold at around 5,000 feet. (Well below freezing). Higher elevations today may see a snow flake or some ice pellets in the pop up showers that form. Interestingly, the highest elevations in New England have seen close to TWO FEET of snow!

With situations where you cook the surface of the Earth with sunshine and you have extremely cold air just above the surface you get an excellent chance for rising air and a wide array of pop up showers to form. These showers will be quite random across the northeast. There will not be much in the way of lifting to produce thunderstorms, but enough cold air could help produce some ice pellets to drop from the sky or a snowflake or two.

The low moves out to sea by Thursday night and is replaced by high pressure that will set up off of the Carolinas. This will help bring sunshine and usher in a warm southwest wind for the weekend.  Expect highs to reach into the 70s for the weekend, with an 80 possible on Sunday. However, clouds and a late day shower or thunderstorm may keep temperatures slightly cooler than what they could be.

Weekend weather pattern shows warm air surging into the northeast. A cold front and area of low pressure over Lake Superior will move close to the Northeast by later Sunday.

Today's (SLEET) accounts for some ice pellets that may fall in a few showers especially across the higher terrain. Sun returns for Friday and Saturday. An 80 is possible on Sunday, depending on the timing of the cloud arrival.

4/0/12 Red Flags, Showers and Sun.

A retrograding area of low pressure (moving in from Atlantic Canada) will keep our weather unsettled for most of the week with a mix of showers, clouds and some sun.  The further north you go in New England, the more clouds you will see for the week.  Since this low is to our north, and being mostly cut off from the main flow of the atmosphere, we will only see a few minor effects of this low.

We can expect scattered showers for much of the week. The flow around the Low in Canada and the High over the South will track over southern New England for much of the week, this will help keep temperatures seasonal and the heavier rains to the north.

What is known as a Red Flag Warning is in effect for the day today. This takes into account the dryness of the ground, wind speeds and the threat for fires (brush fires).   Winds will be gusty today, reaching the 30-35 mph. Please take care with any burning materials today.