The Breeze Goes On

It was scary last night! Well, I was scared.  My cats were unfazed by the howling winds.  My dog was sound asleep.  But I was up for two hours starting at 4 AM. Power outages topped 70,000 statewide with gusts well over 60 mph.

Damaging winds are over but blustery conditions remain in place both Friday and Saturday.  Partly cloudy skies will give way to a few flurries Friday afternoon as a weak disturbance moves by.  Saturday (Groundhog Day) is dry but chilly with high temperatures stuck in the twenties inland. Some light snow is possible on Sunday, mainly in the afternoon and evening.  Early snowfall estimates are for one to three inches.  The roads could be slippery for the drive home from Superbowl parties. But that's not stopping me.  This is my first Superbowl OFF FROM WORK since I graduated college!  And no....I didn't graduate last year. Ha.  I'm going out for wings, cheese dip and Superbowl commercials!  

My Hair Makes Me Look Good. Here's Proof.

Coldest Temps Tonight Into Tomorrow Morning

The wind chill is the temperature it “feels like” based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin.  If you cover your skin, you negate the wind chill factor entirely!  Bundling up is wise tonight into tomorrow morning.  Temperatures (not including the wind chill) will drop down between -5 and 7.

Tomorrow is sunny and chilly with highs once again stuck in the teens. Most of tomorrow looks dry too.  Then clouds will increase on Friday with light snow breaking out late in the day or at night. A glancing blow is most likely with the potential for a coating to 3” of fluffy snow. Snow could linger into early Saturday morning.  But the rest of the weekend is dry. Temperatures don’t return to the 30s until next week!

Tonight: Partly cloudy, frigid. Lows: -5 to 7.

Tomorrow: Bright and cold. High: 16-22.

Friday: Increasing clouds, light snow developing late-day or at night. High: Near 20.

Saturday: Snow ending early (7-8AM) then clearing. High: Low 20s

Sunday: Sunny. High: Mid 20s.

Monday: Mostly cloudy. Chance for a snow shower. High: Near 30.

Update on Friday's Potential Storm

Still not impressed with Friday's storm set up. It doesn't look like the northern and southern branches of the jet stream will phase. This results in a weaker storm tracking south of New Engand with any significant snow occuring well offshore. Some snow is still possible but you won't need a roof rake for this one! Onto the next...

Sorry For The Headache

This is the European forecast model versus the GFS showing MSL Pressure (mean sea level pressure). Every circle is a line of constant pressure.  I showed this on air tonight and I think I caused headaches all across the state. The GFS is farther offshore (blue bullseye) with a few snow showers and little accumulation. The euro (pink bullseye) is a moderate snow storm. But both have trended south or east over the last run or two. If that trend continues, a direct hit is less likely. If the storm comes back farther east or north then model mayhem continues and a bigger hit is still a possibility. By noon-1 tomorrow I think we'll have a better handle on things. Sorry for the headache.

Coldest Air Of The Season

The deep freeze has arrived with the coldest air of the season in place tonight through Thursday.

Temperatures will drop into the single digits inland tonight, near ten degrees for the Connecticut shoreline. That’s cold enough!  But a gusty northwest breeze will make the air feel even colder.  Tonight into early tomorrow the wind chill will fall between -15 to 0 degrees!  The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory for northern Litchfield County until noon tomorrow for dangerously cold wind chills. Bundle up!

The afternoon will not provide much relief from the cold tomorrow with high temperatures stuck in the teens.  If dry air bothers you, keep the humidifiers cranking with sub zero dew points.  Our next chance for snow arrives Friday afternoon.  There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding this storm. Connecticut could get a direct hit with plowable snow or just a glancing blow and flurries.  Today all the computer models shifted the storm south.  If this trend continues, a glancing blow might become more likely.  But it’s too soon to tell.  We’ll have a better handle on this tomorrow as the storm enters the United States from the Pacific Northwest.

Tonight: COLD. Lows: 0-10.  Wind chill: -15 to 0.

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, blustery and cold. High: 15-20.

Thursday: Sunny and cold. High: 17-22.

Friday: Snow developing in the afternoon.  Snow might linger into Saturday morning depending on the track! High: Mid 20s.

A Little Snow Tonight

As far as snow storms go, this one is pretty wimpy. Periods of light to occasionally moderate snow will continue overnight before tapering to flurries from midnight to 3 A.M.  Kids, do your homework!  This storm will produce a coating to 3” of snow. The highest amounts (around 3”) will be found in bands in parts of eastern Connecticut. The jackpot amounts will be along the east coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine where some towns could pick up a foot of snow!

The wind will pick up tomorrow morning after the snow moves out.  Northwest winds could gust up to 30-40 mph with partly cloudy skies. Tomorrow is chilly.  But Wednesday is colder. High temps will get stuck in the teens inland with lows approaching zero. A bigger storm is possible heading into the end of the work week.  A storm developing in the Ohio valley on Friday will move south of New England Friday night into Saturday. This storm will be a quick hitter and COLD with all snow (no mixing this time).  Right now early estimates are for 3”-6”. But we still have a few days to adjust the forecast.

Tonight: Periods of light to occasionally moderate snow. Low: 16-22

Tomorrow: Partly cloudy, windy and cold. High: 25-30.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, cold. High: 15-20.

Wednesday night: COLD! Lows: -5 to 5.

Thursday: Sunny. High: Low 20s

Friday: Snow breaks out around or just after the morning commute through Friday night. High: Upper 20s.

COLD Week, Two Chances For Accumulating Snow

Our spring fling is over.  Temperatures soared into the 50s today!  But a strong cold front is bringing us back to reality.  Monday will be about 20 degrees cooler. In fact, the entire week is colder than average, setting the stage for some snow!

Tonight will be windy.  A Wind Advisory is in effect for Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties with gusts up to 40 mph overnight.  Low temperatures will crash into the mid 20s inland, near 30 for the shore.

Clouds will increase during the day tomorrow as a coastal storm develops. Light snow breaks out toward evening. Most areas will end up with a coating to an inch or two by daybreak on Tuesday. Some isolated 3” amounts are possible in eastern Connecticut.  We have what’s called an inverted or NORLUN trough set up (getting technical).  In these scenarios, snow amounts can vary A LOT from town to town with more snow towards the east.  But I think we’ll be too far from the “jackpot” to see that kind of variation around here.  Massachusetts will get snowfall totals that vary from 1”-2” around Springfield with up to to 5” south of Boston. 

Tuesday will be partly cloudy and gusty as high winds mix down from the upper levels of the atmosphere. Wednesday is positively frigid with high temperatures in the teens and low temperatures approaching zero with sub zero readings in some of our typical cold spots. The cold continues on Thursday.

A bigger snow storm is possible to end the week on Friday.  Right now this storm looks to favor snow with 3”-6” or 4”-8” accumulation possible.  We’re still five days away. But this could be our next big one. 

Cool, Mild....Then COLD Next Week

A fast moving storm will glide well to the south and east of Connecticut tonight.  But we might get grazed by a few snow showers.   The radar is deceiving.  It looks like snow is falling all over the state. So why isn’t it reaching the ground?  Dry air.  While there is snow falling from the clouds, the flakes evaporate before reaching the ground.  Meteorologists call this virga, one of my favorite weather words.  Over time, the layer of dry air will erode, allowing snow to fall all the way to the ground.  Areas south and east of Hartford could see a period of light snow or flurries tonight with a dusting possible.  Extreme southeastern Connecticut could get up to an inch (Stonington, Ledyard, Groton).  But I’m not impressed.

Sunshine returns tomorrow.  But the bright sunshine will also prove deceiving.  Temperatures will struggle through the 20s this afternoon.  But the cold air doesn’t last long.  A warm front on Saturday will bring milder temps in the low to mid 40s. Then a strong arctic front on Sunday will send temperatures crashing. Looking at the forecast for next week will make your teeth chatter with highs in the 20s (or colder) and overnight lows in the single digits. I see big cold in our near future but no big storms….yet.

Black Ice Tonight

Tomorrow morning’s commute will be infinitely easier than yesterday.  But drivers still need to beware of patchy black ice.  Clouds will block the sun from time to time on Thursday with lots of melting as temperatures approach the 40 degree mark. A coastal storm will graze Cape Cod and Rhode Island late Thursday night into Friday morning.  Most of the state will stay dry with the chance for a few snow showers in southeastern Connecticut. On Friday a fresh batch of arctic air arrives with highs in the 20s!  Temperatures rebound over the weekend before a FRIGID BLAST arrives next week.  Low temperatures Monday night could dip into the single digits!

Tonight: Lingering mix early, then some clearing. Low: 20s inland, low 30s shore

Tomorrow: Mix sun & clouds, chance snow shower. High: Near 40

Tomorrow night: Chance snow showers, mainly in southeastern Connecticut. Low: teens inland, low 20s shore

Friday: Clearing, colder. High: Mid 20s to low 30s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. High: Upper 30s to near 40.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, chance snow shower. High: Upper 30s to near 40.