Say Good-Bye to January…February Will Not Be As Kind
Posted by Joe Joyce January 31, 2010 at 7:42 pm
This week will feature seasonably cold air…nothing as cold as this past weekend…but cold enough that anything that falls from the sky will likely be snow. Arctic Air remains in place just over our Canadian border. A series of fronts will push through and reinforce the chill across the region. One front pushes through Sunday night, another later Monday. This will keep high temperatures in the 20’s north with highs near freezing south. Monday will have plenty of sunshine mixed with high clouds.
The Polar jet will still be in place across the northeast, supplying cold heavy dry air at the surface. At the same time ,moisture will becoming out of the gulf, and a piece of energy will be sliding east out from the Rockies. Clouds will be on the increase on Tuesday ahead of these two disturbances. The moisture out of the Gulf will stay south thanks to the Polar jet again… but the weak short wave will provide just enough lift with warmer air over riding the cool air at the surface to spawn scattered light snow showers and flurries on and off Wednesday. I would not be suprised if a few areas see a dusting to One inch of snow out of this.
High pressure follows in behind with increasing sunshine to end the week with temps still running on the cool side. Again all eyes will refocus on the Gulf of Mexico.
An active sub-tropical jetstream will scoop up more moisture and direct it up the east coast. Pressures will be on the rise across New England, but these rising pressures will help to form some blocking in the atmosphere and allow the jetstreams to buckle and possibly merge at just the right time.
As we saw this past weekend, the northern Polar stream helped to direct a winter storm south of New England. This brought 8-16″ of snow through Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. Another storm will be heading towards the mid-Atlantic this coming weekend. The question remains will the Polar and Subtropical streams merge and allow the storm to deepen up the coast and be directed up into New England as a significant winter storm…or will this moisture be directed out to see again. It is too early to tell at this point…but February has a whole other story to tell. After a little break in January, Winter should come back with a Vengence this month! Recess is over kids. This storm bares watching all week. We will let you know all the latest developments as the forecast starts to become more clear. I am banking on a busy weekend for the first weekend February…no matter what the Groundhog may say!
Happy 125th Anniversary to the Blue Hill Observatory!
Posted by Joe Joyce January 30, 2010 at 7:04 pm
The Blue Hill Weather Observatory, in Milton, Massachusetts is the Big Ol’ Grandfather when it comes to the history of weather observations in the United States. Located atop Great Blue Hill about 10 miles (16 km) south of Boston, Massachusetts, it is home to the oldest continuous weather record in North America, and was the location of the earliest kite soundings of the atmosphere in North America in the 1890s, as well as the development of the radiosonde in the 1930s.
Founded by Abbott Lawrence Rotch in 1884, the observatory took a leading role in the newly emerging science of meteorology and was the scene of many of the first scientific measurements of upper atmosphere weather conditions, using kites to carry weather instruments aloft. Knowledge of wind velocities, air temperature and relative humidity at various levels came into use as vital elements in weather prediction due to techniques developed at this site. By 1895 the observatory was the source of weather forecasts of remarkable accuracy.
The observatory remains active to this day, continuing to add to its data base of weather observations now more than one hundred years old, and stands as a monument to the science of meteorology in the United States.
On Sunday the celebration will continue with an Open House at the Observatory with special presentations on Blue Hill history and the weather of the last 125 years. They have guided tours. It is a great place to take the kids to learn about weather.
Inside…A Comprehensive look into the 125 years of recording weather at the Blue Hill Weather Observatory Read more
January Thaw Ends With 5 Minute Blizzard
Posted by Tim Kelley January 29, 2010 at 9:11 pm
That 5 minute blizzard late Thursday January 28, 2010 brought a rapid temperature drop causing icy roads from New York to Maine. This is our NECN parking lot, the Squall looked like a blizzrd from 6:10 to 6:15 PM.
Many spotters told of Thunder Snow. Our Southwick MA spotter reported 1.5″ of snow in ten minutes.
Missy sent us this note: “Hello,Traveling from Belmont, MA to our ski condo at Sugarloaf in Maine. Worst snow squals I have ever experienced. Seemed more like a blizzard! Wind gusts and visibility only as far as vehicle immediately in front of you. Driving 40mph from Portland to Augusta. Very slick and scary!
Missy, Belmont, Ma.”
Rescue crews scrambled to clear accidents and treat injured drivers, for this we thank our emergency responders.
Today we are on the cold side of the arctic front for the first time since January 13th. This is also the coldest day of the winter here at NECN, with a high of 20°, beating the 21° on December 17th.
Read more
Matt’s Weekly Weather Word Winner – Week of January 25- January 29, 2010
Posted by Matt Noyes January 29, 2010 at 9:11 am
It was a tight race this week to determine the winner of our Weekly Weather Word Contest, but our panel of judges voted democratically, and a decision has been made! Check out the video to see who walked away with a great NECN prize package by CLICKING HERE!
And ofcourse, tune in to NECN Morning on Monday at 6:51 AM for a new word!
Snow Squalls Crossing New England…track them on our brand new online radar!
Posted by Matt Noyes January 28, 2010 at 3:03 pm
One round of snow progressed from west to east across mainly Southern New England during Thursday morning and early to middle afternoon. This round of snow was most intense through CT and along the MA Pike.
As the first round of snow departs, much more vicious squalls are racing east from NY State. These will cause horrendous travel conditions from west to east across most of New England.
Follow the squalls with our brand new radar feature on the weather page of NECN.com – http://www.necn.com/weather/
Read more
Matt visits the Eliot School in Needham, MA!
Posted by Danielle Niles January 28, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Meteorologist Matt Noyes makes superstars of the wonderful 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students at the Eliot School in Needham, MA, where he recently traveled for a school visit! Check out the video by CLICKING HERE!
Sky Scenes! Wednesday, January 28, 2010
Posted by Matt Noyes January 28, 2010 at 9:42 am
Today’s Sky Scenes are nothing short of amazing! We start out by taking a look at some ice jam photos of the Winooski River in Vermont.
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.
Surprise Snow in Vermont Jan 27, 2010
Posted by Tim Kelley January 27, 2010 at 11:52 am
We endured 2″ of Rain and Melting Monday, now winter is back. Snow guns have been turned on, groomers are tilling the snow to a granular surface, and it’s snowing! Mount Mansfield has been snowing since Tuesday afternoon. A foot of new snow at Stowe (Jay & Bolton too) goes above and beyond the forecast of any man or machine.
Powder Alert at Stowe, Weds Jan 27 photo.
For complete snow condition update, see snocountry.com.
We have up slope snow and squalls in the forecast through Thursday Night, then the wind and chill Friday. The weekend looks cold and dry.. not too windy.
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