11/20/11 More warmth...

A 65 degree day in November is a very nice treat. Isn't odd how we think of this as being warm, when in July, 65 for a high would be a chilly day?   Then again too a July 65 would be very humid and sticky, today will be nice and dry.

A strong breeze from the southwest ahead of a cold front will bring in the warm temperatures, winds could gust as high as 40 mph on the Cape later today!!

Most areas across Massachusetts will be in the 60s today!

A cold front will push through late tonight into Monday morning, bringing in a much cooler airmass for the week. However the weather pattern is very zonal and there are no major dips to bring the cold air in with a rush, so most of it will stay locked in Canada.
Temperatures will fall to the 40s by Monday.

A potential strong rain storm will approach New England on Wednesday, with wind and heavy rain. It will be warm ahead of the front. Cold air wraps in behind the storm and will likely end as a light snowfall.  Heavy snow could fall in Northern Maine and New Brunswick and Quebec.

Travel will be hampered on Wednesday with a heavy rains.

11/15/11 More milds... then a cool off.

60 Degrees at 7 AM in Boston on November 15. Wow, considering the average high for today is 52, 60 is quite warm. This would be a normal morning in June!

We can thank a cold front off to our west for allowing warm air to surge ahead of it. This cold front will continue to slowly push eastward and the low pressure that is associated with it will strengthen some once it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

A shield of rain will develop along the front and stream into New England on Wednesday for a pretty damp day.

Weather map for Wednesday showing rain over much of southern New England at 2 PM. The rain will be around most of the day

The colder air will begin to pour into the northeast on Thursday where we will be left dry but cooler.  Warmer air returns for the later part of the weekend!

11/14/11 Enjoying some warmth!

What should have transpired in October is now happening in November. A transitional period... Yeah yeah, we already had snow and a frost, but what will be happening over the next 10 days will be a surge of warmth, followed by some cold, then warming again. No long term cold spell are in the forecast.

Cold air building in Canada will try to make a run into the Northeast later in the week, but strong High pressure will reinforce its self to our south and allow warmer air to return

What I am seeing however is this pattern will remain until Thanksgiving, arctic air will build tough in Alaska and the Yukon as night begins its winter stay. This air will eventually push south but likely not until December.

The jet stream over the next 10 days will be zonal, keeping colder air north and warm air south. Small dips or rises will dictate our weather but no major dips are foreseen to produce large storms or a cold outbreak.

11/8/11 Our Calm Weather - look out for Sean and a Mediterranean Tropical Storm

Our weather here in New England has been dominated by high pressure for last week. This dry spell is quite long actually, 9 days so far. The last time it was this dry in Boston was August 30 - September 10, 2009 (12 days)!  We should hold out for day 10 tomorrow, then moisture from Subtropical Storm Sean will affect us with some possible heavy rain come Thursday.

Today - Highs near 70 just inland from Boston. Coolest at the coast and the Cape.

Wednesday - High clouds move in as a front approaches, still mild. High 64.

Sean is a subtropical storm in the Atlantic and will track out to sea, but some moisture will be absorbed by the approaching cold front.

A rare tropical storm has formed in the Mediterranean Sea and is moving toward to coast of Italy!!

Tropical cyclones and hurricanes have formed in the Mediterranean sea on prior occasions, but they are extremely rare.

11/5/11 Cape Cod Ocean Effect - Turn Your Clocks Back!

This morning is bright and sunny for most of the northeast, except for Cape Cod, were the wind flow is such that ocean effect clouds are forming and spreading over the Cape and Southshore of Mass. Moisture content is low and no precipitation is falling.

Close up of the Cape with Ocean Effect cloud streaks

This is the same process as Lake Effect snow over the Great Lake and usually occurs as cooler air streams over the warmer waters.  You can see these streams forming just south of Maine.

Ocean Effect streams extend for hundreds of miles. Notice the stream extending from Penobscot Bay, Maine and the white dot in NH is Mt Washington.

Remember to turn your clocks back tonight 1 hour at 2:00 AM!!

11/4/11 Warming up! Sean??

The tranquil weather pattern will hold through the weekend with a moderating trend in the temperature department. Expect "Indian Summer" conditions Monday and Tuesday as highs reach the mid to upper 60s.

There could be a "Sean" to track in the Atlantic next week... May bring rain late next week.

High pressure will build to the south allowing air from Texas reach New England by early next week, boosting our temperatures into the 60s! Cold Air will be held back in the upper Mid-west until late next week. A possible tropical storm may form east of the Bahamas and meet with a front late next week to bring rain to New England.

11/2/11 A quiet week & Franklin's Storm 1743

This week will feature tranquil weather with high pressure in control for at least the next 5-7 days. A weak dry front will push temperatures lower this weekend, but will rebound to above normal reading by early next week.

High pressure will keep New England dry for the next few days. A storm in Colorado, which is bringing snow to that area will split into two, going north and south of us.

Franklin's Storm!

Think back to a time when weather was just thought to happen in one place, almost pop up and die down at one location or move with the prevailing surface wind flow.  That is how most meteorologists/scientists thought back in the 18th century.

On November 2, 1743, a full eclipse of the moon was predicted, and Benjamin Franklin was eager to see the eclipse from his home in Philadelphia.

However as  the afternoon wore on, the sky darkened and what appeared to be a hurricane bore down on the east coast, and Philadelphia was struck with heavy rain and high winds from the northeast. At the time it was thought that such a storm, which had happened in the past, must have come down from the northeast! Franklin never saw the eclipse.

He wrote his brother in Boston of his disappointment and assumed that since the storm came in from the northeast, that his brother also missed the eclipse. However in later letters and newspaper accounts, the people of Boston observed the eclipse which would have occurred at the same time,  but was then followed by a 'terrible storm with great tides and a northeast wind'.

Franklin noticed the difference in the time between the onset of the storm in Philadelphia and Boston and believed that it indeed was the same storm. However, he rationed that the storm must have moved in a curve, against the prevailing winds from the southwest to the northeast. (Note: is was not until the 1800's that the term cyclone was adapted and used to describe a circular wind storm, therefore the counterclockwise motion of the wind around a hurricane was not fully understood during Franklin's time)

Franklin's Storm. It was thought all storms moved with the wind. So a northeast wind would bring a storm from the northeast (Boston to Philadelphia). However Franklin observed Philadelphia was onset first by the storm then Boston by using the time of an eclipse of the moon. He rationed that the storm had to of moved from the southwest to the northeast. Inset: It was not clear that storms had winds in a counter clockwise motion.

 
This changed the course of weather forecasting significantly, especially along the eastern seaboard and Franklin helped establish the what would become known as the "law of storm motion".