After two Blizzards in a Week from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northern Plains, 2/3rds of the nation experienced a White Christmas. Ho Ho Ho! The pattern of extremes is showing no signs of letting go of it’s grip on the nation. More cold and snow is likely in the coming two weeks as pressures will be rising in the North Atlantic, creating blocking and a wavy pattern to the jetstream which is good for storm development followed by cold blasts of air. Look inside for a full weather discussion if you dare!
1st things first!
An area of low pressure is crossing through New England today. It has brought .50-1.25″ of rain along with it since last night. Rain will be winding down by the midday…though continue in Maine through the afternoon. There is one large pocket of dry air & sunshine in New York and Pennsylvania that will follow in this afternoon behind our departing low. Temperatures have started off very mild in the 40’s and lwr 50’s. Developing Sunshine and a drying west wind should allow for a fine afternoon in southern New England with highs in the lwr to mid 50’s!
Monday Snowfall
Watch for areas of Black ice tonight. With today’s departing moisture…skies are now clearing and temps are falling quickly. Conditions are becoming could become quite slippery in the Northwest overnight. Clouds will be increasing overnight ahead of our next disturbance which will be here for Monday. Monday will feature cloudy skies and a burst of accumulating snow showers during the afternoon and evening. Temperatures along the coastal plain will likely be just warm enough to support mostly rain with a brief change over to snow by Monday night. It appears the heaviest snow/precip will occur in Northern New England with the most accumulation in the hilly terrain…with less towards the coast. Expect a general 1-2″ snowfall from Worcester points North and west….with 3-6″ of snow possible in the hills and mountains from the Green Mountains, White Mountains and the Foothills of Maine….even interiors of Main can expect a 3-6″ snowfall in places like Skowhegan, Bangor, and Millinocket.
Arctic Blast
This Burst of snow will be followed by an Arctic Front which will blast through Monday Night and off the coast Tuesday where the mercury will struggle to climb at all. Bitter winds will usher one of the colder air masses of the season. Highs will be in the 10’s and Lwr 20’s despite the increasing sunshine. Wind chills will be below zero and in the single digits as winds will be gusting over 30 mph. Arctic High pressure will crest over head through the midweek. The winds will not be as harsh by Wednesday and the cold air will begin to lift, but still it will be cold with abundant sunshine with highs in the 20’s
New Year’s Storm?
Our next storm will be coming out of the Pacific, tapping into Gulf of Mexico moisture and taking a trip up the Atlantic seaboard. It is hard to say how strong this storm will be or how much snow we will receive at this point…but there will be something developing off the coast around New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day which will likely deposit more snowfall over New England as we usher in 2010 or shortly thereafter. There is obviously plenty of uncertainty this far out…but this low could become trapped and swirl off our coast right through next weekend. The potential exists for a significant storm to develop which could bring 1-2 feet of snowfall….yet at the same time it may not happen like at all. The Winter Classic at Fenway park will likely be affected by this storm New Year’s Day.
Cold Times Ahead
Pressures will be rising in the North Atlantic around this time…as that usually is a sign of a buckling jetstream which is favorable for more storm development. It also allows cold Arctic air to spill into the the USA..especially the Northeast! Expect January to get off to a cold start across much of the nation. Is another Blizzard in the making in this back and forth pattern??? Crystal Ball says chances are good…but future is cloudy. One of the models has a another major storm around January 7th….Heavy Snow and Harsh Cold is likely in our near future. But for now…let’s remain focused on the the here and now.
