Spring Springs

Posted by Pete Bouchard

Door closed on the sunshine today. As a result, our highs only flirted with 40 degrees. Meh on that, but the big news of the day is...

...it's spring!

We officially started the 1st day of meteorological spring. Astronomical spring (the part where the sun crosses the equator into our hemisphere) won't start until March 20th. Nonetheless, it's a time to reflect back on a very lopsided winter in Boston:

Dec-Jan

Snowless and mild. Precipitation was above normal in December, but it was our 7th driest January on record

Feb

We hit the wall. Snow hit us hard and the temperatures dropped to almost 2° below normal.

Overall, the winter was above normal by almost 2 degrees, and our precipitation was almost 2" above normal with snowfall almost 10" above normal (10th snowiest in Worcester!).

Suffice it to say the drought we were in from late 2011 to Jan of this year is in full retreat. That's not to say we'll stay wet, but certainly the reservoirs, ponds and lakes are running much higher now. If you want to crunch the numbers yourself, click here.

Onto the weekend. Ready for a...

..lot of clouds? Upper level low pressure system will plague us with lots of gray and a few opportunities for a shower or snowshower. Highs make it to the low 40s each day. Kinda blah, very much early spring-like.

Long range...hmmmm...how do I spin this looming threat for a (massive) nor'easter? Glancing shot? Direct hit? Well, they're all possibilities at this point. Most of the weather models push it off the Mid Atlantic far south of us. Still, I'm leary (no relation to Worcester's native son): very few of these types of storms sail out to sea without a visit to New England. And, as stated in last night's blog, storms of this nature rarely show direct hits 5-7 days in advance. They typically creep into the forecast picture over the course of days. There have been some weather maps in the last 24hrs. that DO show us getting hit, but then they back off again. It's this kind of 'noise' that makes me nervous. There are important milestones ahead, so stay in tune to the weekend forecasts with Chris!!

Make it a good weekend.

Pete

Unsettling

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Another day where we have cool, ocean air battling warmer land air leading to a clash of air. That means clouds, drizzle, fog, humidity (frizzy hair) for much of the day. It's not a washout though. The highest chance of rain is this morning--until 9:30am and then later this afternoon (after 3pm). In between, you will see a lot of clouds but also some sunshine at times. Even limited sun will be able to shove temps well into the 70s. This warm & humid air is what will lead to another round of showers & t-storms later today. Some of the storms will be intense. Like the past two days the strongest storms will be in western New England. Only isolated showers/ thunderstorms are expected along the coastline later today. Sox game will have the risk of some showers but they should be able to play that game. Welcome back Tito!

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.

Wild & Wacky

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Wild temperatures yesterday---from the 80s down into the low 60s in just an hour AND some heavy duty thunderstorms. The reason was a cool front that dropped in from Maine. That front is in western New England this morning and it's a chameleon as it will become a warm front and try to warm things back up during the day.

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!