Photo submitted to Sky Scenes by Genny164
A modestly strong westerly wind should keep the chilly ocean breezes at bay allowing the warm temperatures to reach all the way to our coastlines. I bet our own Tim Kelley could tell us the last time we reached 70 degrees here at NECN. I’m going to guess one of those really warm days back in the beginning of November. I’ll be watching the observations carefully today and will tweet if anyone reaches that magical number.
Meanwhile, the length of our days has grown to just over 12 hours with sunset right before 7 PM and we’re gaining approximately 3 more minutes of sunlight with each passing day. That’s great news because the sun will be shining for most of us these next few days. It also means great spring conditions for skiing, and I’m going to try and get out there one more time this weekend. Skies will become mostly cloudy in northern New England on Sunday though, with the chance of a few showers late in the day. Rain and wind moves in for all of us on Monday as a cold front slices through New England bringing cooler temperatures into the Northeast on Tuesday.
Enjoy this beautiful stretch of weather and have a great Thursday!
Top o’ the morning to ya New England! It’s been a chilly start out there this morning with a few patchy areas of frost and black ice on some of the roads, but they will melt away quickly as temperatures rebound quite nicely; expect highs in the 60s for most of us this afternoon, although local sea breezes will keep our coastlines a few degrees cooler along with the North Country. Sunshine will dominate the skies making for a beautiful St. Patrick’s Day (too bad it couldn’t have been this nice for all of the Parades this past Sunday!).
High pressure remains in control over the next several days, so aside from a few clouds from time to time, our sunny and dry stretch of weather continues right on into the weekend. West-soutwest flow keeps us mild too and temperatures will run anywhere between 5 and 25 degrees above the average for this time of year. Keep in mind the “coolest” spots will be right along the ocean and in far northern New England.
It looks like the official start to Spring this Saturday is going to be a beauty! Somebody *may* even hit 70 degrees!
By Sunday, clouds will be on the increase out ahead of a cold front approaching from the west. It’ll be breezy as the wind picks up out of the south throughout the day. Any rain should hold off until after dark, but we’ll keep an eye on the timing and let you know if any showers are expected to creep in earlier.
The heaviest rain will fall on Monday as the front slides through, perhaps even accompanied by a few isolated thunderstorms. This will usher in noticeably cooler temperatures (in the 40s for most) next Tuesday, although the sunshine will return for another extended stay.
In the meantime, stream and river levels across New England continue to recede. For the latest information on observed and forecast river conditions, visit the Northeast River Center homepage by clicking HERE.
Have a great Wednesday! 
A little bit of everything across the nation today
Yesterday I was thinking that steadier showers may try to make their way into southern New England tomorrow, but that does not look like the case (which is good news, right?). Northern New England may even hold on to some filtered sunshine through the day on Friday, while central and southern New England stay mostly cloudy.
My current thinking is that some patchy light rain and drizzle will develop on Friday night and early Saturday in southern New England. Steadier rainfall will move in during the afternoon and evening from southwest to northeast, reaching as far north as southern VT and NH. The heaviest rain arrives overnight Saturday and Sunday morning, falling the hardest south of the MA Pike. I’m still thinking rainfall totals will generally run between 1-2 inches for much of New England (lesser amounts in the North Country). A persistent onshore flow will continue through the weekend, gusting at times over 40 mph at the shore.
The storm will pass south and east of Nantucket on Monday. Counter-clockwise flow around this area of low pressure means that a north-northeast wind will wrap colder air down from eastern Canada into New England. In turn, we could be dealing with rain AND snow showers early Monday, although little if any snow should accumulate.
Random side note: 4 of my friends from my grad school days down at Florida State are visiting Beantown for the first time this weekend (2 coming from Texas, 2 from Florida)! I told them they should have come last weekend because the weather was perfect! Oh well, we’ll just need to have the umbrella handy while we tour the city.
Will update you tomorrow on any changes. Have a great Thursday!
You’ll need those shades again today because the sun just won’t stop shining (and I’m ok with that)! We’re going on Day 5 of beautiful weather here in New England, but this trend won’t last too much longer, so enjoy it while it lasts. Take a look at the forecast diagram for Concord, NH above…notice the daily sunshine duration row…ZERO sun forecast for Friday through Monday. Check out other cities by heading to weather.us. Tomorrow will start off with sunshine, but clouds will increase throughout the day in advance of the next storm. Thursday night could feature a few light showers and areas of drizzle, but there is enough dry air in place across the region that the bulk of the moisture will hold off until the weekend.
Southern and central New England will get into steadier rain on Friday and Saturday, while northern New England stays mostly dry. Bands of heavier rain will organize on Saturday night, eventually spreading into northern New England. An east wind may increase to gale force overnight on Saturday too, bringing the potential for some minor coastal flooding. Periodic rain will continue on Sunday, possibly mixing with snow in the mountains of Maine, and tapering to showers in southern and central New England.
By the end of the weekend, we could be looking at widespread rainfall totals between 1 to 3 inches. Combine that with a melting snow pack across the northern interior and flooding of our streams and rivers becomes a concern…certainly something to monitor over the coming few days.
On Monday, colder air will wrap around the backside of the storm allowing off and on rain showers to change to snow showers possibly as far south as the higher elevations of southern New England. The entire storm shifts east on Tuesday, meaning sunshine returns along with temperatures around 50!
Keep you posted on the weekend…have a great day!
What a gorgeous stretch of weather we’ve had across New England over the past several days! Temperatures yesterday soared well into the 50s and lower 60s. Portland, ME broke their previous record high of 54° (1995) reaching 56° and Bangor, ME tied their previous record of 52° (1995).
Today will be slightly cooler in the wake of a weak cold front passage overnight, but highs will still come into the 50s in southern New England, 40s central and 30s in the North Country. This cold front also brought in a reinforcing shot of dry air, and in turn, sunshine will be the rule once again this afternoon.
Wednesday will be a few degrees cooler along the coastline as a weak sea breeze develops during the afternoon. By Thursday, clouds will be on the increase, although aside from a few showers late in the day, we should remain dry. The steadier rain will hold off until after dark.
More rain and potentially some mountain snow is forecast for Friday and the weekend as a slow moving storm currently over the nation’s midsection will head towards New England, eventually moving east of the region by the beginning of next week. This could even mean some snow showers in the higher elevations of southern New England by Monday. We’ll have to watch this system closely and fine tune the details in the days to come, but for now, plan on unsettled weather Friday through Monday.
So enjoy today!
Crystal Blue Skies over Mount Washington, NH this Friday afternoon
Ok, maybe not the shorts, although I’m hoping to play some pick up bball on Saturday, so we’ll see.
A few clouds will dot the sky on Sunday, especially in northern New England, where we may see a sprinkle or flurry along the Canadian border. Temperatures will once again rise well into the 40s and lower 50s, so enjoy!
A cold front will cross the region on Monday with little fanfare, but what it will do is knock the temperatures back down to seasonable levels on Tuesday. And that’s where they’ll remain through the end of next week. Otherwise, a relatively quiet weather pattern will persist with no major storms on the horizon.
Have a great weekend!
…and meteorological spring began on Monday (although the vernal equinox and official start to spring is still 16 days away). While there may still be some snow in the future for New England, climatological records for the winter are kept for the months of December, January and February. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Taunton, MA has compiled this weather information in a Public Information Statement for several cities in southern New England. Do you keep your own snowfall records? If so, feel free to share your information in the comment section below this blog post.
| Location | Boston, MA | Dec/Jan/Feb (2009-2010) |
| Average Temperature | 32.0° | +0.1° (Departure) |
| Precipitation Total | 10.16″ | -0.79″ (Departure) |
| Snowfall Total | 35.4″ | +4.1″ (Departure) |
| Highest Daily Snowfall | 10″ | December 20th |
| Highest Temperature | 69° | December 3rd |
| Lowest Temperature | 6° | January 30th |
| Highest 2 Minute Sustained Wind Speed | ENE @ 47 mph | February 25th |
| Peak Wind Gust | E @ 60 mph | February 25th |
| Location | Providence, RI | Dec/Jan/Feb (2009-2010) |
| Average Temperature | 31.7° | +0.6° (Departure) |
| Precipitation Total | 13.99″ | +2.03″ (Departure) |
| Snowfall Total | 30.9″ | +5.7″ (Departure) |
| Highest Daily Snowfall | 14.3″ | December 20th |
| Highest Temperature | 66° | December 3rd |
| Lowest Temperature | 6° | January 30th |
| Highest 2 Minute Sustained Wind Speed | SSW @ 44 mph | December 3th |
| Peak Wind Gust | SSW @ 56 mph | December 3rd |
| Location | Hartford/Windsor Locks, CT | Dec/Jan/Feb (2009-2010) |
| Average Temperature | 29.6° | +1.2° (Departure) |
| Precipitation Total | 12.11″ | +1.71″ (Departure) |
| Snowfall Total | 30.6″ | -3.3″(Departure) |
| Highest Daily Snowfall | 6.0″ | December 9th |
| Highest Temperature | 67° | December 3rd |
| Lowest Temperature | 1° | January 30th |
| Highest 2 Minute Sustained Wind Speed | W @ 38 mph | January 29th |
| Peak Wind Gust | W @ 52 mph | January 29th |
| Location | Worcester, MA | Dec/Jan/Feb (2009-2010) |
| Average Temperature | 26.6° | +0.4 (Departure) |
| Precipitation Total | 12.74″ | +1.77″ (Departure) |
| Snowfall Total | 58.4″ | +17.2″ (Departure) |
| Highest Daily Snowfall | 7.7″ | February 24th |
| Highest Temperature | 63° | December 3rd |
| Lowest Temperature | 0° | January 30th |
| Highest 2 Minute Sustained Wind Speed | WNW @ 41 mph | December 29th |
| Peak Wind Gust | WNW @ 56 mph | December 29th |
Good Monday morning everybody! I hope you had a chance to enjoy the weather this weekend, because the overall pattern here in the Northeast will turn very unsettled starting tomorrow, lasting through this weekend. For Ski Country and all you snow lovers, get pumped – we could be talking about 2 to 3 FEET of snow across the mountains over the next week! And for those of you who may be getting a little sick of Old Man Winter, the official start to spring is only 26 days away…and we have mild sunshine to enjoy today!
Forecasting through this upcoming period is going to be very tricky though and at this point, it’s hard to be completely confident in how the weather is going to pan out over the next several days. So let’s start out with what we do know…
In the days ahead, a massive blocking pattern will evolve over the northeast United States. Essentially what this means is that a big upper level low is going to stall off our coastline, bringing unsettled weather to New England for an extended amount of time. The position of the upper level low will play a pivotal role in determining the magnitude and duration of each separate storm.
The first storm will impact New England’s weather tomorrow and Wednesday. Expect light snow to break out tomorrow morning, where a thin coating to an inch is possible outside of 495 especially by tomorrow’s morning commute. The precip will become steadier through the afternoon and evening with the heaviest expected to fall overnight Tuesday through midday Wednesday.
Snow will turn to rain along our southern New England coastlines, but continue as snow across the high terrain of the interior. I’d say we’re looking 1-3 sloppy inches across the interior of southern and central New England by Wednesday morning (outside of 495), with 3″-6″+ inches when you come back from the Berkshires and Green Mountains to the high terrain of north-central MA, southwest NH and the White Mountains.
Keep in mind that this is just one chunk of energy/moisture…more is on the way…
Another storm will develop in the Atlantic and get pulled into New England on Thursday night/Friday. The potential exists for another round significant snowfall, even in southern New England, along with flooding concerns as a persistent wind off the ocean combined with astronomically high tides piles up water at our coastlines.
Be prepared for some changes as the week wears on, and a lot of shorter updates on the blog as we nail down the details over the coming few days.
Ice Jam along the Winooski River in Vermont (taken yesterday by Derek Maroot)
Elsewhere across the region today, mostly sunny skies are the rule, with the exception of much of Vermont, northern NH and northern ME where the clouds win out, along with a few snow flurries too. Temperatures will rise into the lower 30s in the North Country to the lower 40s in far southern New England. And while some people consider this seasonable “warmth” a good thing, I can sympathize that this is not exactly welcome news for skiers, snowmobilers and the business’ that depend on them. Cold air is on the way to New England though, and will be ushered in by snow showers and squalls tomorrow afternoon and evening.
Expect any sunshine to quickly fade behind increasing clouds tomorrow as an arctic front approaches from the west. Snow showers and squalls will develop from west to east during the afternoon and evening. They will be scattered in nature, but pack quite the punch as they come on through. Bursts of snow will coat the roadways, making for a slick commute tomorrow evening, with some locations picking up a quick inch or two. You’ll want to clear the snow fairly quickly before the deep freeze moves in late tomorrow night as temperatures plummet into the single digits and teens. Friday can be summed up in two words: windy and cold. It will feel like it’s below zero at the warmest time of the day in the north, and in the single digits south, so bundle up!
The weekend is looking bright, but the cold is here to stay. Highs will generally be in the 20s. We’ll keep a close eye on the potential for some light snow especially at the south coast of New England on Saturday as a storm passes well to our south, but right now it looks like it will slide harmlessly out to sea.
That’s all for now! Have a fabulous day and if you can, head out to our NECN Celebrate the Gift of Life Blood Drive! It’s all happening today and our goal is to raise 2010 pints of blood! Matt Noyes is at the Dedham, MA donation center and will be there all afternoon, so stop on by and say hello! For all the details click HERE!
Before we start talking about the warm up that’s on the way for Monday, let’s dive into the forecast details for tonight and tomorrow, which are pretty straightforward. Any leftover clouds from a storm that passed to our south today will fizzle away tonight as dry air works into the region courtesy of high pressure building in from Canada. Winds will be fairly light, with the exception of the Cape & Islands where gusts up to 35 mph are possible. Tomorrow, bright blue skies will be the rule! It’s going to be a fantastic day to get out and partake in any winter sports, or just plain enjoy the winter sunshine. You will have to bundle up though, as temperatures will be seasonable, but chilly nonetheless. Expect highs in the 20s in the North Country (teens on the mountain summits) to the 30s in southern New England. We may start off with sunshine on Sunday morning, but clouds will thicken from west to east throughout the afternoon…
Our attention will then turn to the next significant weather maker, a storm whose center will pass to the west of New England. This means we are on the warm side of the system, and in turn, will be dealing with a rain event for the six state region. There may be a brief period of sleet, freezing rain, or a touch of snow at the onset, particularly in our valleys of western and northern New England late Sunday before a quick changeover to plain rain.
The bulk of the rain waits until after midnight to push into New England from west to east, falling heavily at times through the morning commute on Monday. There may even be a rumble of thunder or two during the early morning hours as a cold front slides on through. Rain totals of 1″-2″ are likely, with locally higher amounts. This will lead to some urban and street flooding, and even some small streams and rivers to come out of their banks. At the same time, warm, moist flow will stream in from the south, allowing temperatures to rise into the 50s in southern New England, 40s central and north. Damaging wind will also be a concern, primarily in southeastern New England where gusts could exceed 40 mph.
The storm winds down from west to east during the afternoon on Monday, with a few pockets of sunshine possible by days end. Above average temperatures will linger right into Tuesday, before colder air starts to work back into the picture. A few weak pieces of energy will rotate through the northeast during the middle part of next week bringing the chance of a few rain/snow showers, but nothing too substantial by the way it looks right now. There are indications of a potential storm next Friday which would usher in a bitter cold airmass in its wake for next weekend…but that’s a ways off.
So let’s take it one weekend at a time…enjoy this one!
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