Hurricanes, Cold Fronts & High Pressure

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Quite a few weather players on the board this morning. A powerful cold front barreling east through the Ohio River valley....a huge area of high pressure in Canada (Labrador) and of course, Hurricane Sandy. All three play a role in our weather. If it wasn't for that Canadian high pressure, Sandy and the cold front would collide out over the open Atlantic but that large H will force that collision of storms right along the eastern seaboard over the next 2 days.

Confidence continues to climb that Sandy will make landfall across southern New Jersey late Monday evening and continue into northwest Pennsylvania on Tuesday. A track that far southwest wouldn't normally be of concern to us but Sandy is an expansive storm. for that reason, we need to prepare for a period of heavy rain & high wind.

Here's what I'm thinking:

*Earliest effects from Sandy arrive very early Monday morning with periods of rain & wind (wind gusts 15-30mph)

*The worst from Sandy looks to occur in a window from 11am MONDAY until 2 am TUESDAY. Within this period is our greatest risk of wind damage/power loss. Many towns will experience wind gusts over 40mph during this time & coastal cities & towns may see wind gusts between 50-60mph. the concern isn't so much the speed itself but the duration as several hours of 40mph wind gusts may be able to bring down trees & power lines.

*High tides on Monday...11:30am and again at midnight will have to be watched for the threat of coastal flooding

*Rainfall looks manageable. Most towns look to pick up 1-3" of rain Monday-Monday Night. This will likely lead to some urban flooding but not enough for widespread river flooding.

Between now & then is the weekend. Today is a nice day with sun & clouds, light wind and temps in the low 60s. Sunday does offer cloudy skies, a few isolated showers and a developing breeze (northeast wind 7-20mph).

More through the day & weekend. Be safe!

~Jeremy

Can Only Go Up From Here

Posted by Chris Lambert

Rain and drizzle continues tonight as temperatures drop into the mid 30s to 40 degrees.  Any burst of heavier precip drags down colder air, and elevations above 1000 feet in northern Worcester County  or southwester NH see wet snow mixing in overnight.  No shovels or plows needed for us, but it is a sure sign how cold the atmosphere is for late May.  As of this writing, Mt. Mansfield in VT has picked up 7.5" of snow and Whiteface Mtn. in NY has picked up 18"!

This Is How It Starts? Really?

Posted by Chris Lambert

So it's the unofficial start of summer this weekend and officially, the average high this time of year hits 70 degrees.  So you'd think we have a good shot at BBQ weather right?  Not much of a chance today with highs reaching near 50 this morning, only to fall back into the low to mid 40s this afternoon as a cold rain settles in. 

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.

How To Spin This

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

So....what would you like to hear first? The good news? Bad news? Let's start with the good news....