4/3/12 How does it feel to be normal?

After several months of warm weather, April is trending now to be pretty much normal. There are no major cold spells seen, nor are there any major warm ups as well. 

Pretty much, temperatures holding in the 50s and maybe a 60.  If anything, the progression of the spring season is setting up as it should with New England, the last to get into the warmer weather, but just go several hundred miles south and warmer air tends to be in place.

This true color image from Modis from yesterday shows how spring is moving up from the south to the north. The green is picking up all vegetation including trees, grass and crops. In the northeast, and Canada, the trees are still budded and there are more trees than open grassy areas so it is still picking up the barren landscape. (I will post later today's cloudless image if available)

New England is cut off from the warming high to the south and is primarily under the influence of a cooler Canadian high pressure that will allow for cooler air to flow into the region. This air is not necessarily colder, it just keeping the overall temperatures near normal with colder nights and mild days. This pattern looks to hold on for the next two weeks.  Weak storms will move along the jet stream which will wobble back and forth to reinforce the cooler air with a day or two of warmer weather possible. Meanwhile, Spring and warmth remain to the just to the south.

With this all stated, temperatures will still be slightly above normal, in the Boston area. The ocean will influence the air temperatures over much of coastal New England with inland areas reaching the 60s and immediate coastal locations will fail to reach 50.  This can be expected in such a pattern.

Inland areas will reach the 60s, where the coastal locations will be influenced by the ocean and be cooler today. Expect full sunshine.

Temperatures will be cooler along the Cape and the Coast during the week ahead.

4/1/12 Sunday's Weather - 80s Style!!!

An inspired thanks to Google Maps NES tribute maps, I thought it would be fun to make some weather graphics that were considered high tech in the mid to late 80's for today's blog.

Sun will give way to clouds and showers today, as an approaching weak storm system moves in from Canada later this afternoon. Expect showers to arrive around 5 PM.  Todays highs will be just around normal reaching near 50 in most locations.

Google Maps NES 1987 version of New England Map with todays high temperatures.

Clouds will increase this afternoon from the west. In the 80s, most satellite images received by TV stations were of low quality and only a few pixels. It could take up to 15 minutes to get this image and disk space was at a minimum to store this 2MB image.

Rain over New York will arrive in the Boston area around 5 PM.  If a TV station was lucky and had money in the 80s it could tap into the NWS Telephone line to access the radar sweep from the WSR 57 Radars.  Only 5 colors would be could be shown to indicate intensity. Most maps looked like this with 3 letter airport codes to indicate cities.  (NOTE: the snow colors did not arrive until the later 90s as seen on this de-hanced map) 

In the 80s, weather forecasts were considered to be most accurate out to 4 days. Some places started giving out a 5 day forecast, but this could be filled with A LOT of errors, so it was safer for the meteorologists to only give a 4 day forecast, and at that time, only high temperatures for the day were given.

Maps:  accuweather.com   intellicast. com and maps.google.com

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!