3/28/2012 A mild rain will fall.

A warm front will push through New England today bringing a few need rain showers along with it. 

The first batch of rain, which will be light, will fall this morning between 9 and 11 AM, and mostly be confined to the NH/MA border.

Another line of rain will move through the Boston area between 1230 and 130 this afternoon. There could be a heavier shower, but will be over by 2 PM.

 An area of Low pressure tracking into Quebec will have a cold front trailing along it and this will push into the region by this evening.  There is the chance that southern parts of New England may see a rumble of thunder or at least a heavier shower around 7 PM tonight.

High pressure off of the Carolinas will usher in milder air ahead of a cold front poised to sweep across the northeast today. Cooler air is behind this front, but not as cold as the past 2 days.

The weather pattern has changed significantly from last week and is more typical of an early Spring, April Pattern. This means that we can expect, waves of colder air to move in, followed by spells of warmth as an almost regular interval. This is what is seen for the next 2 weeks.

An area of low pressure will track to the South of New England Friday night. On its northern edge, a band of snow may develop. While the low will stay south and not track up the coast, an area of brief but heavy snow could fall in SW Mass through CT and Rhode Island overnight Friday. Amounts are still not known, but the ground could get covered in the darker blue areas. A lighter snow could fall for the remainder of Mass with a mix along the coasts and the Cape.  Finer details to come. Of note: Some models keep it too warm to snow or just bring in the chance for a mix.

3/26/12 A Windy Hard Freeze Tonight!!

Typically in March, you would expect cold temperatures, even some snow to fall, especially here in New England.  But since it has been almost 2 weeks since the last freezing temperature and with highs in the 80s last week, many plants have started to grow and trees have blossomed it is best to prepare since temperatures will fall into the 20s tonight.

Although some bulb plants can take the cold, other plants may not be as tolerant and a precaution to protect such vegetation should be taken tonight.  Since this is a frost and not a freeze type of situation here are some actions you can take.

• Water your trees and flowers as late as possible. The water will freeze 1st, protecting the vegetation.
• Cover your plants beds with plastic, placing filled milk jugs/soda bottles of hot water underneath for protection
• Bring anything you can indoors
• A wind driven freeze will not be blocked by a sheet or thin layer of fabric (as in a frost)

Strong Northwest Winds will push in behind the cold front that is moving through this morning as the low develops over Atlantic Canada.

A gusty northwest wind will put all of New England into a deep freeze overnight. Areas closest to the water will be the warmest.  Winds could gust to near 40 mph along the coast and on the Cape.

3/24/12 Here cometh the cold..

I know many of you are in shock this morning. Temperatures are hovering around normal this morning. Yes, this is what it is supposed to feel like at the end of March.

A flow off of the ocean will keep coastal temperatures lower. Inland areas over the CT River Valley will warm into the 60s. Rain showers are possible today in NH and VT.

Saturday across Boston will be mostly dry. A few showers are possible early over Vermont and New Hampshire. Then showers will move into Western Mass and CT later this evening. A brief shower may move through between 4 and 5 PM this afternoon in Boston.

As the area of Low pressure that is over the Ohio Valley moves to the east coast, it will get a little bit stronger and it will tap into the colder air that the Canadian High pressure has produced by Monday and Tuesday.

The weather pattern across the Northeast has changed with an area of High pressure from Canada taking over. The flow is allowing air to flow in from the north instead of the Bermuda high, which brings air in from the south. An area of weakening low pressure will bring rain showers late on Saturday and Sunday. 

A cold snap (Which is actually normal for this time of year) will occur on Monday and Tuesday. Nighttime lows will drop into the 20s and 30s across Mass and into the teens in NH, VT and Maine. Expect daytime highs in the 40s.

The cold spell t will drop temperatures into the 20s overnight both Monday and Tuesday. Even though it is early, the 80 degree temperatures of last week have brought out many buds, flowers and plants. Some protection of this vegetation may need to be taken.

3/22/12 One more hot day, then a gradual return to normal.

All good things must come to an end.  And our streak of warmth and summer heat will come to an end today as a slow shift in the weather pattern returns to a more March like flow.

Temperatures will fall though to just slightly above normal by next week, and no major cold out breaks are foreseen, although after several 80 degree days, it will seem to be much colder.

Thursday will be the warmest day of the warm streak!  I would not be surprised to see a 90 in a few locations.

Friday will be cooler, as a weak cold front crosses the region. However, the air behind it will still be 25 degrees above normal. A few clouds and a possible sprinkle may be possible as the front passes, but it is expected to remain dry.

High pressure off the Carolina coast is ushering in warm air into the Great Lakes, as air around High pressure is clockwise, the flow then turns west and warms into New England.  This type of set up is typical in the summer months

The same weather map is shown for Monday, High pressure is replaced with Low off of Canada. The flow, is counter clockwise around Low pressure and will usher in colder air into the Northeast US come Monday and Tuesday.

3/21/12 The "Heat Wave" Continues..

Officially a heat wave is defined when temperatures reach 90F or above for 3 consecutive days. However, due to the time of year, March. And temperatures 40 degrees above normal, this will be considered a heat wave. It is vast, and expansive as well.

Boston will make a run at its first 80 degree temperature since October 10!  A stronger west wind today will help keep the sea breeze from coming onshore and only locations at the immediate coastline will be cooler. The exception being the south facing shores and the Cape.

The Merrimack valley and the western suburbs of Boston will see the highest temperatures today. South facing Coastal areas will be cooler and out on the Cape.

Boston officially takes its temperatures at the airport in East Boston, which is directly on the water. Temperatures will greatly rise from the coast to inland today by as much as 5-10 degrees from the Harbor to Fenway.

Thursday will be the warmest day of this heat wave with the typical hot spots possibly reaching 90 degrees around Nashua and Lowell.   Once again south facing coastal areas and the Cape will be much cooler. A pop up thunderstorm is possible, but unlikely tomorrow afternoon

Sadly I must report, that the weather will turn cooler come this weekend, however, it will still be above normal. Keep in mind that normal though is 48 degrees!

3/20/12 6 PM - Major temperature gradient due to the Atlantic

A sea breeze has set up this afternoon allowing for a large temperature difference across the Boston Metro area.  The airport is 55, while Boston city is 63 and Watertown is 80!     Out on Nahant it 57, Lynn 64, Medford 71, Lexington 77 and Waltham 81!

3/20/12 Spring has been pre-empted to bring you SUMMER!

It is one thing in meteorology to predict the weather say for the the next few hours and for the next few days when everything is as I quote "normal".  With this warm winter now past us, you should know that todays average high and low temperatures are 46 and 32. Thus when you have a record high temperature yesterday of 74, you just aren't ready to be as bold to go that high.

A lot of the models that we use to predict the weather take in to account the past and what it should be for this time of year. So yesterday, I was going out a bit to say that the high would reach 68, before a cold front pushed through to drop the temperatures. Well, that cold front waited several hours to reach Boston and allowed the temperature to warm even more.That is 22 degrees above where it should be.

Here comes even more of a challenge. How do you say it will be 40 degrees above where it should be.  Pinpointing the actual number is difficult. Many factors are going into the numbers, but here is a reason why I will go out and say, it will be 86 on Thursday.

At this level in the atmosphere, meteorologists look at temperatures at roughly 6000 feet. The temperatures at this level are running around 55-66 degrees. This is typical of what you would see in the summer months. This is one way you can forecast warm temperatures. (The orange over the Great Lakes is even warmer air)

Also, a strong west wind around the high pressure will allow winds to flow from the west and West southwest and blow off of the mountains to the west of Boston. As I stated last week, this will allow the air to compress as it comes off the higher hill tops and warm.  Thursday should be a windy day as well and will push the warm air all the way to the coast where a sea breeze will not have an impact on high temperatures.

As shown last week. The mountains to our west will help raise temperatures as a warm west wind will flow over the mountains to the West and warm even more, come Thursday. 

A southwest wind on Thursday will push some ocean cooled air over the south coast and the Cape to keep temperatures lower

It should be of note:  The warmth will leave us come later this weekend and will likely depart and return to just slightly above normal to near normal for the next 10 days after Saturday.