2/11/12 Where's the Snow??

Sometimes it is easy to jump on a weather bandwagon, sometimes you just don't see any other option and other times you realize that the science of meteorology is still growing.

The snow event that was to bring a few inches of snow to the Boston area is not going to happen as originally planned.

So, you want to know, what happened?  For starters, yes, there is a storm, a potent storm actually that you can see on the map below.

The storm is impressive looking on satellite images, but will be pushed out to sea instead of tracking closer up the coast. This is why the snow will be minimal in accumulation across New England today.

The snow will fall into warmer air as can be seen in the temperature reading in red. The Arctic cold front will usher in much colder air. Less than an inch of snow is now expected across New England

 Yesterday, it was thought that the storm would track just 20-30 miles north of its now present track, and allow a band to set up across New England and to fall into the colder air as snow and accumulate.

8 AM EST Temperatures (F)

The coldest air will stay in Northern VT, NH and Maine and will be trapped by the mountain ranges to our north, however the temperatures currently in the Ohio Valley will move in for Sunday, but will rebound by Monday.

Sunday Weather, The sun will return, it will be colder, with a gusty Northwest Wind creating a bitter wind chill.  

High in Boston on Sunday will be 28

2/10/12 Here comes winter, and the snow!

For one of the first times this winter, the weather pattern is showing what typically would be considered a winter storm pattern.

But first, a strong southerly flow ahead of a polar air mass will allow temperatures to surge to about 50 today.

On Saturday, what is known at the Polar Vortex, (an area of intense cold, will push south and east and drop temperatures 45-50 degrees by Sunday night from values today)  

So here is what is happening...  The main jet stream which flows a lot of the weather systems is dipping out of Montana over Texas and then moving up the East Coast.  The subtropical Jet stream, which is bringing in moisture from the Pacific Ocean over the Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast is very strong. A branch of the Jet Stream which is bringing in the polar air mass (Jet Stream P) is surging south and eastward.  These Jets or storm tracks are going to meet up along the east coast later today into tonight.  This will allow a weak storm over the Great Lakes to develop a coastal Nor'Easter off of the Carolinas (which right now is almost non-existant) and move up the coast. 

For 1 PM on Saturday, the Low pressure intensifies well south of New England at its closest approach. A strong high over Quebec will bring in the colder air while a Stronger high over Nebraska will usher in the colder air for 2/3 of the country.  weatheronline.co.uk

Snowfall amounts.  With the storm traveling far south a major snowstorm is not foreseen, but the heaviest snow will fall south of Boston from   Providence  - Brockton- . Lighter amounts will fall on the immediate coastline and just north/south of the Pike and in Boston expect up to 4 inches. Lesser amounts in NH and the Berkshires.    The cold air will be late in arriving on the extreme south shore and Cape and therefore the precipitation will begin as rain and continue for most of the storm. Therefore lesser amounts are forecast with a brief changeover later on the outer Cape.

 
Snow will start to fall late Friday night and into the early morning Saturday with the heaviest arriving at Sunrise until around 1 PM.

High temperatures for Saturday.. Cold air aloft will support snowfall except on the south coast at first. Temperatures will fall throughout the afternoon.

The snow will end by sunset on Saturday. After that, cold air (in the red and oranges and purples) will push into New England and down the East coast allowing for a very COLD windy day on Sunday and Sunday night!  Likely the coldest of this winter season.

2/5/12 Something "tropical"???

An interesting feature has shown up on the weather map this weekend.

A inverted surface trough (which would resemble a tropical wave in the summer months) has moved across the Caribbean sea over the weekend. 

Today, showers and thunderstorms are becoming a bit more clustered around a broad area of low pressure off the Yucatan.

From the National Hurricane Center at 1 PM Sunday 2/5  

A SURFACE TROUGH THAT EXTENDS 
FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO THROUGH THE YUCATAN CHANNEL INTO THE W 
CARIBBEAN NEAR 21N86W TO THE GULF OF HONDURAS NEAR 16N88W 
GENERATING CLUSTERS OF SCATTERED TO HEAVY SHOWERS WITH SCATTERED 
THUNDERSTORMS N OF 16N E OF THE SURFACE TROUGH AND W OF A LINE 
FROM CUBA NEAR 22N78W TO HONDURAS NEAR 15N84W. THIS AREA IS 
BEING CLOSELY MONITORED FOR POSSIBLE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT.

1 PM Satellite of the "disturbance" in the Yucatan channel

Surface Pressure and 500-1000 thickness and 925 mb wind speeds

Phase diagram showing that the cyclone is warm core in nature or at least will be borderline (warm core = tropical cyclone)  Link

2/5/12 Happy National Weatherpersons Day!

Today is National Weatherpersons Day!   Why not thank your favorite meteorologist!     You can look up the info here.

A slight shift in the weather pattern over the past few days, will bring a change to the recent warm weather much of the eastern US has experienced over the past few months. At least for some northern States.  

The weather pattern has featured a cold pool of air over Alaska and Siberia and in fact over much of polar regions, which allowed a small dip in the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean.  This dip over the ocean allowed a flow of air to modify over the waters and flow right into the Continental US.  The jet stream which does act as the steering flow for weather systems also acts as a boundary between the warmer air masses and the winter air masses.  So with the jet being pushed south over the Pacific, it was allowed to rise over much of the US and the cold pool of air also was not allowed to drift eastward.

The weather pattern coming up for much of February has shifted greatly to what would be considered a more typical winter weather pattern with the pool of cold air (Known as the Polar Vortex) now situated over Hudson Bay.  The jet stream then can rise ( I over exaggerated the amplitude for effect) over the Pacific Ocean and then dip into the eastern 2/3 portion of the US.  This will allow the cold air to basically spin in place over Hudson Bay, ushering in waves and periods of cold air into the northern States. The mild air will be pushed further south and be allowed to build in the western US.

A feature also influencing our winter has been the North Atlantic Oscillation. We have been in a  Positive Phase since September (the last 2 winters have been in the Extreme Negative) For the month of February, it may shift some to a normal or near Negative phase.

A more indepth version of the polar vortex

and on the North Atlantic Oscillation

 Onto our Forecast:   Some fluctuations in temperature will happen this week, a cold front which pushed through last night, ushered in some colder air for the day on Sunday, however this front will move back through as a warm front overnight and allow our temperatures to rise into the 50s tomorrow!   Expect sunny weather until Thursday when a weak storm will pass to the south of New England and could bring a slight chance of a snow shower.

2/4/2012 Tranquility For a While... A look at February

A look at the February Weather in Boston.  The average temperature rises by the end of the month! There is a gain of 73 minutes of daylight.

Saturday forecast:  A few clouds will pass through as can be seen on this mornings visible image. Temperatures will rise to the lower 40s today with some good sunshine. A storm that will track through the Carolinas and Virginia will bring some high clouds to the area, but no rain or snow is expected here in New England.

high Temperatures for Saturday

2/3/12 Winter to Make Special Apperance Next Week!

Maybe the groundhog knew something, when he predicted 6 more weeks of winter (and yes, it is 6 weeks {5 days as pointed out}  til the Spring Equinox).

A very tranquil, quiet weather pattern will take hold over the Northeast for the next week with the next chance of any rain or snow arriving next Sunday, February 12.  Temperatures will remain seasonal with no extreme highs or lows for the upcoming week.

For today... however, it will  be a NORMAL February 3rd day with the high temperature reaching the normal high for this date.  Which is 37 in Boston

Friday will feature a normal February day for most of New England.

Outlook:  What will happen though is that some of the intense cold air that has been building over Alaska will finally push its way eastward and by  next weekend, will park itself for a few days over Maine actually.  This weather should remain in place for roughly a week or so.

Temperatures for next Sunday. Showing how the cold air will spill in from the Arctic into New England.

Some of the coldest air will remain over Maine, NH and VT, but it will be chilly here, so winter should make a return!

1/23/12 Cold Air Damming!

Yes, you read that right, and no it is not cursing the cold air!  What it is, is that a cold area of high pressure is forcing shallow layer colder air to move south. Cold air is more dense and will sink to the surface. However due to the stretch of mountains along the eastern states, the Appalachians, this cold air can get stuck as warmer air try's to move in. Below I have shown several examples.

This mornings surface weather map, and satellite. Showing a potent storm in the Great Lakes that brought severe weather to the south last night. If you notice the warm front though, it is caught up on the western side of the mountains and the cold high pressure is allowing colder air to drain down the eastern side (noted by the arrows)  Also of note. Severe weather usually can occur in situations such as this in the region between the cold front and the warm front, known as the warm sector.

 This can further be illustrated on this mornings temperature map.

Although I do not like the color scheme, the purples are colder air, and note how it flows down the east coast, where a bubble of warmer air moved northward into KY and TN and OH.

 Events like this can cause colder air at the surface and allow the warmer air aloft which should be rain, to fall to the surface a freezing rain.  

This will likely be the case here in New England today, as the cold air at the surface will be hard to displace and the warm air will try to work in. So any rain that may fall in the morning, may be freezing rain, which can also be influenced by the snow cover from 2 days ago.

Warmer air will try to work into New England  today, and will reach the south coast with temperatures near 50, mid 40's in along the north coast, but in the valley areas where the cold air is more dense and will be hard to scour out temperatures will remain cool in the 30s to near 40.

Later today, the cold air will be mostly pushed out as the warm front approaches precipitation will be light in nature. However the strong cold front does approach, a line of heavy rain will move into MA by, 7 PM and reach the Boston area after 8 PM. A rumble of thunder is not out of the question with this line.

A clap of thunder is possible tonight and rain should end by 7 AM Tuesday morning and be clear and sunny by Noon .

A description of COLD AIR DAMMING on Appalachian Mountains