Toughing It Out

Posted by Pete Bouchard

That was a wake up call. If you had to work outside - or even walk a few blocks for that matter - you really found out what you're made of today. And with the Green Line going down this morning, lots of folks were left to tough it out.

Everyone's talking about how this is the coldest in years. Today's high in Boston was a numbing 16°. Last winter, the coldest we hit was 19°; the winter before, 13°. That's a nod to how mild we were last winter (and how marginally cold this spell is). No matter. We're not setting any records with this cold. Record to beat in Boston is -6 and in Worcester it's -13. (See, it can always get worse.)

Got one more day to grimace in the cold before we can talk some sense into Mother Nature. Friday will see the temperatures catapult back to the low 20s, but that's in response to an advancing storm system that looks like it may throw some snow our way.

This isn't a biggie, but it will produce a plowable snow for some - especially Southeast Mass. Here's my latest thinking:

There isn't much moisture to work with, but when temperatures are this cold, you don't need a lot. Looks like enough to sweep, sand and salt in that 1-3 band and plow in the 3-5 band. Startup time is 8-10pm Friday and continuing through early Saturday morning. Pacing is light, but there might be a few bands of moderate snow reaching up to Cape Cod and the Islands from midnight to the wee hours of Saturday.

Could be fine tuned in future forecasts, so stay in touch.

Pete

Come On Ride The Train

Posted by Pete Bouchard

Heavy rain is on the move! All afternoon long it was stalled over Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Heavy pulses of rain traveled over the same towns and cities - a process meteorologists call "training" - resulting in flash flooding in some counties to our west.

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.