A big upper low in the midwest is diving south and will take 3 days to finally reach the coast. This low will push energy, lift and moisture up the Atlantic seaboard for a strong developing low at the surface which will become our Weekend Nor’easter! High pressure is currently in place in Quebec, and is supplying dry air into New England with a light east-Northeast wind. Though clouds have moved in…enough dry air at the surface has prevented much rain from falling. The low level dry air will hold on as long as possible, before the rain will finally start to fill in southern New England later Saturday. The peak of the storm occurs Saturday Night into Sunday. It will be a chilly, raw, wet, and windy weekend ahead. Full impact of the storm will be felt at the coast! The full weather details inside!
Saturday will be a beautiful day in Northern New England. A mix of sun and clouds with highs in the 40’s nearing 50. A great day for skiing and being outside despite all of our talk of a weekend storm.
Southern New England will feature more clouds, thus cooler temps and a better chance of a few showers.
The best chance of showers Saturday will be south of the Pike…especially in Connecticut & RI. Any moisture could be in the form of a light freezing rain in the Berkshires early on. Rain will struggle to fall north of the Pike and eastern facing coastlines…thanks to the dry air being supplied from our high to the north. By mid-afternoon, rain will start to fill in a bit more in the south…so by sunset rain should be underway in southern New England. As our storm deepens south of the region, winds will be strengthening out of the east where winds be gusting to 30+mph or greater along southern New England’s coastline and hills.
Rain will become heavy Saturday night into Sunday morning. Gale force winds will be at the coast where winds will be gusting to 50+mph at the coast, especially on the Cape & Islands. Heaviest rain will be found in Eastern Massachusetts where 2-4″ could fall by the time this is all over. The rain and wind will be heavy Sunday morning and gradually work it’s way up the coast into Northern New England by Midday Sunday and Sunday afternoon. Sunday will be a very chilly raw day as highs will struggle to reach 40 degrees in the rain and wind. The morning deluge will taper to a lighter rain south for the afternoon…so conditions will become slightly better for the St. Patrick’s parade in Southie….though it will still be raining on our Parade…the worst of the storm will be winding down.
Colder air being drawn into the backside of this low with a northeast wind will be just cold enough to change any rain over to accumulating snow in the northwest hills…the best place for accumulating wet snow will be in the Monadnock Region and the Berkshires later Sunday & Sunday Night…where over 3″ of snow could occur above 1500′
Seas will be building off the coast to 10-20 feet with this storm. A prolonged onshore wind will allow a piling of water during the high tides which will cause more beach erosion and the potential for minor coastal flooding.
Lingering rain could last into Monday Morning before our Low pulls away. High pressure will build in for the Midweek with sunshine and warming temps into the 50’s just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
Don’t Forget!
Daylight Savings Begins this Weekend. We will be springing ahead 1 hour before going to bed Saturday Night…officially 2 AM Sunday….Sunset Sunday 6:49 PM!
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!
There’s nothing like take a moment to relax and enjoy Sky Scenes – photos from across New England submitted by you! Ogunquit, ME, Sunderland, MA and Conway, NH are a few of the locations we visit in this mornings segment.
Do you have your own pictures you’d like to send us? It takes mere moments to sign up for a Flickr account and start uploading directly to the Sky Scenes group, where every one of the thousands of pictures I’ve received are posted. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EASY INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!
To see the still image gallery, displaying a large number of air-quality photographs we’ve received (but not necessarily had time to air all of), CLICK HERE!
To peruse the video archive of our on-air segments, click the “Sky Scenes” tab at the top of our Weather Blog, here at WeatherNewEngland.com.
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!
It’s time for another wonderful set of Sky Scenes, all thanks to you! Today we catch a glimpse of the beauty in Thornton, NH, Newburyport, MA and Sebago, ME – just to name a few…enjoy!
Do you have your own pictures you’d like to send us? It takes mere moments to sign up for a Flickr account and start uploading directly to the Sky Scenes group, where every one of the thousands of pictures I’ve received are posted. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EASY INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!
To see the still image gallery, displaying a large number of air-quality photographs we’ve received (but not necessarily had time to air all of), CLICK HERE!
To peruse the video archive of our on-air segments, click the “Sky Scenes” tab at the top of our Weather Blog, here at WeatherNewEngland.com.
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!
Today’s Sky Scenes exhibit the first signs of spring in New England!
Do you have your own pictures you’d like to send us? It takes mere moments to sign up for a Flickr account and start uploading directly to the Sky Scenes group, where every one of the thousands of pictures I’ve received are posted. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EASY INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS!
To see the still image gallery, displaying a large number of air-quality photographs we’ve received (but not necessarily had time to air all of), CLICK HERE!
To peruse the video archive of our on-air segments, click the “Sky Scenes” tab at the top of our Weather Blog, here at WeatherNewEngland.com.
We reached 60° in New England today, the nicest weather since November 19-21, 2009.
And now, for the first time since January 12-14, 2010, we are not forecasting snow or rain in New England on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Oh What a Relief! Because many of the 7 mid-week storm forecasts have busted in one way or another. We shall relish the quiet… and retool for more fun beginning this weekend and beyond. The most interesting feature on the weather map today is the same thing as yesterday and the day before and the day before. The FOG over the Northern Plains. The fog shows up on the Visible Satellite Map.. seemingly every day. Here is the view this afternoon, Monday March 8, 2010.
That storm in Texas is a slow mover. The rain will arrive Friday, and may take the weekend to get by. Wind will increase from the east and southeast, perhaps to Gale Force by Saturday. Don;t cancel your weekend plan, but prepare for a rain delay, forecasts change all the time (for example, last Wednesday, I thought we would snow this Wednesday).
For more on the interesting Fog and Cold in North Dakota, see the Public Information Statements below. Why so much Fog? Submit possible explanation in comment section, also feel free to rib forecasters.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
310 PM CST MON MAR 8 2010
…NORTH DAKOTA STUCK IN A FOG…
TODAY MARKS THE 68TH DAY OF THE CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR. IF YOU THINK
ITS BEEN FOGGY LATELY…YOUR RIGHT. BELOW ARE THE NUMBER OF DAYS IN
WHICH FOG AND DENSE FOG (FOG WITH VISIBILITIES UNDER A QUARTER MILE)
WERE OBSERVED AT OUR MAJOR REPORTING SITES SO FAR THIS YEAR.
CITY # OF DAYS WITH FOG # OF DAYS WITH DENSE FOG
BISMARCK……………….53……………………17
DICKINSON………………50……………………21
HETTINER……………….46……………………31
JAMESTOWN………………52……………………17
MINOT………………….48……………………16
WILLISTON………………50……………………11
$$
KJB
000
NOUS43 KBIS 081610
PNSBIS
NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-090415-
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
1010 AM CST MON MAR 8 2010 /910 AM MST MON MAR 8 2010/
…SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES AT BISMARCK IN FEBRUARY TIES RECORD…
DURING THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY TEMPERATURES AT THE BISMARCK AIRPORT
FAILED TO TOP THE FREEZING MARK…32 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. IN
FACT…THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE DURING THE MONTH WAS ONLY 29
DEGREES. PAST RECORDS DATING BACK TO THE LATE 1800`S INDICATE THAT
SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF FEBRUARY OCCURRED
ONLY ONE OTHER TIME. THIS WAS IN FEBRUARY OF 1936.
$$
KJB
Now that is more like it! The feel of spring is in the air this weekend with temps averaging 10-15 degrees above normal. Mild daytime highs in the 40’s and 50’s and cool crisp nights below freezing is ideal weather for maple sugaring. March is known as maple sugar month after all. All over New England buckets are collecting sap from the maple trees.
With the Sun setting past 5:30 PM, The Sun is getting higher in the sky too. The stronger radiation reaching the Northen Hemisphere up to our latitudes, is really helping to eat away our snowcover. This is a good thing! We want to avoid any flooding problems with still plenty of snow in our Northwest hills. A heavy rain event with mild temperatures could create bad flooding from New England down through the Mid-Altlantic. This is something to watch out for in the coming weeks. Skiers should watch out for sunburn!
Higher elevations are closer to the stronger radiation….with the sunlight reflecting off the snow….this is a double whammy this time of year. Bring the sunscreen!
High Pressure has supplied a bone dry airmass this weekend with dewpoints in the teens, and relative humidities around 15-25%. This dry airmass, with a slight breeze helped to form scattered brushfires across New England yesterday…and could do it again today. After a cool start Sunday, more sunshine and mild temps by afternoon with highs once again in the 50’s! Some areas could approach 60 degrees in southern New England. The mild regime will last into Monday, before a cold front will bring in a cooler more typical March airmass for the midweek.
Another Pacific storm is slamming into California. This will take a while to reach us as it runs up against blocking high pressure across New England. This storm will reach us by Friday into Saturday as the low tracks south of us. Right now…it looks more wet than white, but this will be wrapping up into a potent storm providing gusty winds at the coast. It appears a series of lows will track south of us into Sunday. Temps will have a cooling trend, so by later Saturday into Sunday….some of the moisture may begin to mix with wet snow in the Northwest hills.
Looking ahead to Daylight Savings time which begins next Sunday Morning (2 AM). We will be springing ahead 1 hour.. the sun will be setting at 6:49….so gone will be the early sunsets….with more sunlight to end our days coming home from work or school!
Officially 2 more weeks until the Vernal Equinox…only 13 days away! Winter is simply runnig out of time. The winter pattern we have seen for most of the winter has broken down. The Sun is getting stronger, and there is little Arctic air in North America. The back of winter has been broken…but there is still a little more gas left in the tank which we still have to empty before we will really be into spring. So while there is not alot of cold air in the pattern, the atmophere will still remain active as we transition from winter to spring. There is still plenty of high latitude blocking, with an active subtropical jetstream delivering el-nino type storms into the nation. This is creating a split flow to the jet…which could easily come together off the east coast and direct storms up the northeast if everything comes together just right….with our next chance for storm development being next weekend.
Spring fever abounds this weekend! Enjoy it. It’s a sign of things to come, but just not immediately….in fact, we may likely not be this warm again until the end of March! Cooler air to come….just not cold. This has been the case most of the winter….cool not cold….thus snow….just not accumulating. What a meteorological headache this winter has been. Nice for Mother Nature to throw us all a bone!
With temps in the 40’s and 50’s during the day, and lows near freezing with clear cool nights, the weather is perfect for Maple Sugaring! Can you think of a better way to spend the weekend, teaching the kids what life was like in the early 1800’s?! A time when the country was being settled. A time when the kids had to work too!
Historians at Old Sturbridge Village will demonstrate maple sugar making at the Village’s own working “Sugar Camp” from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays each weekend in March. Visitors can see the entire sugar-making process, from tapping the trees to “sugaring off,” and will learn why maple sugar was more commonly used than maple syrup in early New England.
Some early farm families, especially in northern New England, tapped 100 trees or more for a yield of 400 pounds of sugar each season. Women and children helped with the sugaring, and it was often a social occasion for friends and neighbors. The children’s favorite taste treat – maple snow – was actually the result of testing the syrup’s consistency before granulating it for storage, according to Old Sturbridge Village historians.
The maple sap flows best when the days are above freezing and the nights are below freezing. Each maple tree can produce up to 20 gallons of sap per tap during an average year, with each tap yielding an average of four pounds of sugar per season. It takes 40 gallons of sap (or more) to make a gallon of syrup.
