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

More Warmth

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

You have another warm & humid day with many towns repeating yesterday's weather. That means we start with clouds & fog for a bit before hazy sun gets going. That hazy sunshine will boost temps up into the low 80s by early to mid afternoon across much of the region. At the same time a cool front will begin dropping out of Maine (backdoor front) which will quickly send temps from the 70s/80s down into the 50s/60s by late afternoon & evening. Also, when this front rams into the warmth & humidity it will spark a few showers & thunderstorms during the afternoon.

Summ-ah!

Posted by Pete Bouchard

With the snap of the fingers we were thrown into summer this afternoon. Heat, humidity, A/C and shorts - with a hazy sun to boot. But with the sea breeze knocking back the temperatures (and bringing in a round of downpours this evening), there are changes afoot.

Feet First

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Right into summer. Warm & humid weather expected for much of the week. Good?.....Well, keep in mind that warmth & humidity are the 2 key ingredients for thunderstorms. The last being something to *lift* that warm/humid air. Usually a front is a good device to do such that. Today, we will have a cool front approach New England very late in the day & evening. That may lead to an isolated storm or two after 4pm but most towns just have a fair amount of clouds, warmth & humidity. Temps will climb to near 80 by afternoon.

Warming Up and Unsettled

Posted by Chris Lambert

Well, it certainly was a great weekend weather-wise until this afternoon when the temps dropped and light showers moved in from west to east.  Despite the cool down, the theme for this upcoming week is warmer with higher humidity.  It'll also be unsettled at times.