Big Batch of Cold
Posted by Pete Bouchard
It's been subtle but steady. All afternoon long, the deep cold has been seeping in. As low temperatures bottom out in the single digits, the big freeze is on.
Haven't seen the likes of this cold in almost exactly two years.
January 24th, 2011:
Boston 13/-2
Worcester 8/-9
"Thanks" to the wind, our low temperatures won't bottom out below zero, BUT it will still FEEL like it's below zero as the winds continue through tomorrow and Thursday - and that's really what will grab your attention (and ire).
The letup in the cold will come...with a storm late Friday. We're still wrangling over the amounts. Heck, I'll admit to being gun shy about throwing totals out 3 days before the event, but I also don't think it's fair to say, "it's gonna snow" without giving you and idea what MAY fall.
This isn't a big nor'easter, but it's not a storm to take lightly either. It will ride along the arctic air, so we're talking a fluff factor (very little moisture is needed to make for sizeable snowfall amounts) AND when this storm comes off of Jersey, it should intensify when it hits the ocean water (a winter storm's paydirt). For that reason, I'm throwing around the idea of 6" of snow. Could be a little less if the storm gets wild off of Nantucket, more if the storm jumps the gun south of Long Island.
More later.
Bring the pets in!! (And wash those hands. We'll all be indoors in close quarters thanks to the cold, and with the flu going around, it's going to spread like wildfire.)
Pete
Take the Good, Take the Bad
Posted by Pete Bouchard
Rain, rain, rain...
...but for many today was a day of hurry up and wait. Sure there were showers, but not every minute was washed out. With the events unfolding tonight, that's about to change.
Come On Ride The Train
Posted by Pete Bouchard
Heavy rain is on the move! All afternoon long it was stalled over Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Heavy pulses of rain traveled over the same towns and cities - a process meteorologists call "training" - resulting in flash flooding in some counties to our west.
Saved by The Sea Breeze
Posted by Pete Bouchard
Although my forecast was busted today, there was one good thing that came out of it.
Stability.
That gray overcast that hung over the eastern half of the Commonwealth provided a stablizing influence to our atmosphere. The cool air blowing in from the ocean kept the temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s all the way back to Metrowest. While that makes for lousy short-and-t-shirt weather, it is poison to thunderstorms.
Storms, Heat, Sea Breezes
Posted by Pete Bouchard
What a day! Breakneck temperature swings, thunder, tornadoes in Western Mass....and we're still in late May!