A Storm Named Sandy

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

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 during the day on Monday.

No major changes to my thoughts in regards to Sandy. 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 9am 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 and even some wind gusts near 70mph out on the Cape/Islands. The concern isn't so much the speed itself but the duration as several hours of just 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 moderate to perhaps major coastal flooding 
along the east coast of Massachusetts. Along the south coast--especially WEST of New Bedford there is a high risk of coastal flooding at the 8:33pm high tide on Monday.

*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.

That's Monday & Monday night. Sunday is a gray day that is dry for the most part (a few sprinkles around at times) as well as a developing wind (indirectly related to Sandy) Wind gusts between 15-20 mph are likely along the coast during the afternoon and those gusts will slowly increase during Sunday evening.

updates on twitter www.twitter.com/jreineron7

~Jeremy

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!