Night Train

Posted by Pete Bouchard

Houses (and nerves) were rattled last night with what seemed like a freight train (with dual locomotives) barreling through the Commonwealth. Gusts topped 80 mph high atop Blue Hill in Milton, and a general swath of 60-70mph winds were present around Greater Boston and the South Shore.

Big question is why did the storm spare the Merrimack Valley and Southern NH hurricane-force gusts? (Granted, winds there weren't light, but they weren't to the tune of 60-80mph either.) That's because a squall line - or line of intense, convective rain - hit the former and spared the latter.

Now it's time to simmer down. Winds will still be around, but they will nag - not terrorize - us. Chill is setting in too. Highs tomorrow nudge the mid 30s, but Saturday we'll fall short of freezing in many areas. Winter is back!

And because of that, we're watching the weather maps for snow. One such event may be unfolding Sunday, but it doesn't look any worse than what we've seen this winter - in select spots.

This storm will flare up south of Long Island and intensify en route to the Gulf of Maine. That puts Eastern Massachusetts in the cross-hairs of the greatest accumulation, but the concern here is how strong the storm will be when it passes overhead. I'm throwing around the 3-5 inch amounts in my head, but I haven't yet put it to print just yet. West of Worcester, accumulations will be lighter.

More later.

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.