Saturday March 18 2023 Forecast (9:30AM)

65 Comments

DAYS 1-5 (MARCH 18-22)

A little delay to the clearing today as a ripple of low pressure moved up along the cold front moving offshore. An area of rain showers moving across far southeastern New England is exiting now and the dry weather in the remainder of the region moves into that area as well, despite the clouds hanging on for a portion of the day before some clearing finally works in. Despite the lack of sun, it will be a mild March day with a shot of colder air waiting for the passage of a secondary cold front tonight. This front may bring a snow shower to the higher elevations of central MA and southern NH but these should fade to a few flurries and sprinkles or nothing at all south and east of there. What won’t fade is the wind and chilly air heading in for the second half of the weekend – making Sunday feel a bit more like mid winter in comparison to today. Wind chill readings will be down in the 20s when you combine the gusty wind with air temps in the 30s. But this is only here for a short stay. As we head toward the vernal equinox Monday (late afternoon), the last hours of winter will be met with fair, more tranquil, milder weather after a cold start to the day. And this milder trend will definitely be evident for the first full day of spring on Tuesday, continuing into Wednesday as well, though Wednesday’s temperatures may come down just a little bit. I’m going to leave you with a little quiz to try to figure out why the temperatures on Wednesday may be a little cooler than the day before it. The answer shows up in this detailed forecast…

TODAY: Mostly cloudy morning with any rain exiting southeastern areas. Clouds break for sun at times afternoon. Highs 47-54. Wind W increasing to 10-20 MPH, higher gusts possible especially higher elevations by late day.

TONIGHT: Variably cloudy. A quick snow shower possible in southwestern NH and northwestern MA and maybe a brief snow flurry or sprinkle of rain to the south and east. Lows 26-33. Wind W-NW 10-20 MPH, higher gusts possible.

SUNDAY: Sun and passing clouds. Highs 36-43. Wind NW-W 15-25 MPH, higher gusts.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows 18-25. Wind W 5-15 MPH, diminishing.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 42-49. Wind W to variable up to 10 MPH.

MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows 32-39. Wind WSW up to 10 MPH.

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 50-57. Wind W 5-15 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 38-45. Wind S up to 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. Highs 47-54, coolest South Coast. Wind S 5-15 MPH.

DAYS 6-10 (MARCH 23-27)

A period of unsettled weather with a good chance of some rain from later March 23 to early March 25, followed by a trend back to dry, cooler weather.

DAYS 11-15 (MARCH 28 – APRIL 1)

A somewhat active pattern with a couple of precipitation threats and near to below normal temperatures during this period.

65 thoughts on “Saturday March 18 2023 Forecast (9:30AM)”

    1. Yes, indeed.

      Even though the impact would be more profound at the South Coast, the entire region would be a little cooler with a southerly wind in March versus a westerly wind, unless of course that westerly wind was part of a strong cold advection, which in this case, it won’t be.

  6. Your requested pop quiz, Tom.

    What was Boston’s high temp 11 years ago today. Bonus if the high temp on March 22 is given. Extra bonus if you remember why I know the answers 😛

    1. So, let’s see ….. this would be 2012 and I recall that was a crazy warm spring that led the country into a really hot summer.

      So, I’m gonna guess it was in the 70s, maybe even 80F ?

      It probably turns out it snowed and was under 25F 🙂 🙂 🙂

    3. I walked around Lake Q in Wakefield on March 22 2012, but that doesn’t help, because I’d do that if it was 90, 50, 10 or pretty much anything from -10 to 110. 😛

  10. This entire winter 2022-23 has been “The Twilight Zone” with folks buried in Southern CA as well as at least 30 residents found dead on the streets of Buffalo NY earlier in the season.

    What would Rod Serling think? :mrgreen: 😛

  12. Worcester 47.2” Boston 12.4”

    Boston 12.4” NYC 2.2” (Yawn)

    Jimmy, has NYC “added” any more? 😉

      1. Most of the keyboard face emojis sadly do not work. JPD tried them on what I believe is an android yesterday and I tried on my iPad

  14. For an area that was so mild for so long, the real estate covered by freeze warnings in the US Southeast is astounding. Brr!

  15. Needless to say, I’m in agreement with Philip on being frustrated by the lack of sustained cold this winter. Like TK, I do find the weather patterns fascinating. But, unlike TK, I’m frustrated by not having had a real winter. I understand that characterizing winter as `real’ versus `not real’ is problematic. But, I think you get my point.

    I’m quite confident we’ll have a `real summer,’ as we almost always do. Periods of sustained heat – say, above 85F for lengthy periods of time – are almost a lock in this part of the world. I loved this as a child, teenager, and even young adult. But as I’ve aged it’s gotten increasingly uncomfortable. Having a 3 month period – June through August – during which I feel ill most of the time is not good. There are worse things, I know. So, I do count my blessings.

    1. It has taken me a very long time for the heat/humidity to start to get to me. For the 1st time in my life I felt ill from the heat one
      day last Summer.

    2. Other than when I was a kid, I always found being frustrated over things I can’t control, especially natural things, like the weather, to be a waste of time and energy, so I learned to embrace and appreciate all of it. I’m glad I did too because I’m far less stressed than I would have been. 🙂

      Snow lovers hated the 1980s around here. At least the period of 1991-2020 was Boston’s snowiest on record. We may have had some “lame” winters in there, but it’s been feast, not famine, for the last 3 decades. I equate it to Pats fans being spoiled by 2 decades of Tom Brady and then being upset because “we’re not the same”. That’s because 1) people age and 2) pro football is a business too. 🙂 Anyway, there I go comparing weather and sports again. No wonder why they often come side-by-side on the newscast. 😉

  21. TK, you have an excellent attitude. I admire it.

    Wish I could say the same for myself. I’m stressed pretty much all the time, and about a lot of things – whether it’s stuff that’s out of or in my control. My siblings suffer from a similar syndrome, so it’s probably upbringing and maybe some genetics thrown in.

    1. Took the B’s a little bit to get into the game today.

      Despite their successes, they’ll need better power plays in the playoffs. They need to watch the lazy passes early on in games. Other than that there is no one better positioned to win the Cup.

      1. Meanwhile the Celtics are running on fumes. They no longer have home court throughout the postseason.

        2. I hardly pay attention to the NBA. Bummer for the Celts tho. Hopefully they can have a strong playoff push.

  24. Meanwhile my just-for-fun NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket is working out nicely. I’m 20 correct and 2 wrong so far. Men’s – not nearly as good – just over 50% correct.

  25. MJO, FWIW, is moving from phase 1 through 2 to 3 over the next couple weeks while weakening all the while – a factor in making it mild at first, and then not much of a factor at all after that for a while.

    1. No more snow threats in the pipeline? I am still trying to understand La Niña, let alone MJO phases. :mrgreen:

        1. We can certainly rule out snow for this upcoming week, even for NNE. If that’s not a sure bet I don’t know what is. :mrgreen:

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