May Gray

84 Comments

1:52AM

An ocean wind and moisture today, a nearby frontal boundary Thursday, and a disturbance moving through from the west Friday into Saturday will all combine to make it a very gray time with a lack of sunshine in southern New England. After a moderate rainfall in much of the region on Tuesday, not much will occur through Thursday. But by Friday, the disturbance from the west may bring some widespread shower activity. Hopefully most of this is gone by Saturday, but it may remain unsettled on that day. Improvement should arrive in the form of at least some sunshine by late in the weekend.

Forecast for eastern MA, RI, and southern NH…

THROUGH THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the 50s except some lower 60s Thursday. Lows in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Wind NE 5-15 MPH Wednesday becoming more variable by Thursday.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Showers likely. Low 49. High 61.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Low 51. High 63.

SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 48. High 62.

MONDAY: Partly sunny. Low 47. High 64.

TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 44. High 66.

84 thoughts on “May Gray”

  2. This mornings NAO forecast looks fairly dismal for warmer weather fans. Some ensembles bring it back to neutral the middle of the month, some keep it flat in negative territory to the end of the forecast period. GFSx looks to hold the cooler temps and dismal weather (on again off again) at least through the end of next week. No big warm up or pattern change that I can see. If, and thats an big if IMO, the NAO actually returns to neutral by the end of the middle of the month, we could break out of this. But, if it stays negative longer than the 15th or 16th, May could be a cool, damp month and the first below normal since last June. I hold out hope that it “gets it out of its system” so to speak so we dont see a repeat this June. We saw this same set up last June for about 9 days. At least if it does it next month it’s in the 60’s and not the 40’s.

    1. I just saw Brett Anderson’s latest interpretation of the Euro long range month of May forecast. He keeps us cooler until the week of the 21st, then it warms us up. That would just about correspond to the NAO’s return to neutral and moving the blocking pattern out of here. So that would put us about 3.5 weeks in this cycle. This is pretty close to the basic spring pattern we’ve had the last few years that cycles mid April-mid June.
      While I dont agree with a lot of Brett’s global warming stuff he writes, he’s usually fairly good in terms of his 25-30 day outlooks. At least as good as you can be with that kind of voo doo 🙂

        1. Well, its just my interpretation, I’m not an expert. Some might have a different opinion. I hope i’m wrong, but I really dont see a lot of consistently warmer weather for at least another 2 plus weeks. 🙁

      2. I agree that what he has said sure seems similar to the past several springs. Maybe we have redefined spring in new england and I’m happy we had the nice days at the start of the year at least 🙂

        1. If i recall May of ’06 was similar. It rained for 4-5 days and flooded the place. No floods now, but the grey cool pattern was there too. The summer that year turned out pretty good actually. I dont think this has much to do with the weather a month or even 2 down the road. Still a pretty typical spring pattern we seem to have gotten into the last several years. Seems everythig shifted somewhat. We get April rain and cool in May and warmer weather through September.

        2. Yes, the mild winter and the week in March in the 80’s were sure nice to have so early :).

        3. Hi Vicki remember when I always was aggressive with street lighting and wonder why they don’t have street lights on exits, well I’m very sad to say that on the 95,128,93 exit a person is in critical condition from a couch that fell off a truck at 10 o’clock at night and the lady hit it doing 55 mph and the car flipped, they say there’s no way she would have saw it till the last second bc of the lack of lighting, I really believe no street lighting is a public safety hazard, have a great day Vicki 🙂

          1. Charlie did I disagree with that? I think we need better lighting on highways too. And around major intersections. And we need better street signs – like the ones in San Francisco where they put them half a block before you get to intersection.

            I do wonder at full speed if she could have seen it anyway and also would blame person who didnt secure it before lighting. Doesnt negate fact we need lighting Often at night I cant see the exit. Such a tragic accident.

              1. Hey look at us!!

                I’m afraid to ask and don’t want to know specifics but politically do you run right or left or down the middle. I’m definitely not looming for a discussion and this isn’t the place but I have a feeling you and I may sit on the same fence politically

                2. Haha I lean left but in some things I lean right, I probably 50% left 30% right and 20% down the middle haha my wife is 100% left which sometimes can be trouble haha 🙂

                3. Well well. I suspected that. I can claim the same. Moderate to left and sometimes right. That from a born and raised staunch republican family:)

    1. It sounds that the NWS agrees with you too this morning. They think northern and central New England the most but still unclear.

      1. It does move the heavier rain through here moving NW to SE but it has a bit more staying power north 🙂

  6. The latest 8-14 day CPC outlook has below normal temps and above normal precip through mid-month. My bet is that May is going to be the first below normal month temp wise since last June.

    I sense a cool summer ahead…hopefully not 2009 though.

      1. And this weather has nothing to do with what happens in the summer, IMO. Less everyone forgets, this is a pretty normal pattern for may.

        1. I think if we just reversed May with April it would have been more normal, speaking of bad weather 1 of my friends moved to Seattle for a job and lived there for 1 yr and said it rained/drizzled for 20 days straight, then 1 sunny day then it rained/drizzled for another 7 days, he moved back 2 yrs ago 🙂

          1. Yea, actually Seattle makes Boston look like south Texas, lol. That’s one depressing place. I’ve been there a lot. Back in the 80s and 90s and man is it dreary. The suicide rate there is above the national average. At least here you know that after a week or so the sun will come out and stay for awhile. Not up there.

          2. Yea, it does look more like April. But I think it’ll turn around mid month. In 20 years, I have seen some darn cold memorial days though. So it’s nothing new.

            1. I’m gonna go out on a limb and predict a nice memorial day weekend with temps in the 70’s and 80’s

        2. Brad, you are probably correct. Last June was very cool but July and August ended up being very warm.

          However, both TK and Barry hinted at a somewhat cooler summer ahead. We will see what happens.

          1. Yea I know they did based on an el niño that might form. They might be right, but with all due respect to both of them, it’s a guess. The more I look at this stuff, the more I don’t put a lot of stock in a long term seasonal forecast. Last July was really hot so any pronouncement it’s gonna be cooler is most likely correct. If you go back and look, August wasn’t all that steller in terms of decent summer weather either. We really only had about 6 weeks of what I consider real summer weather. So we’ll see

  7. I don’t mind cool as long as the sunshine is out and will save money on the electric bill which is always good to have a little extra money in the wallet.

    1. Me too. I really like thunderstorms. But I gotta say you guys thunderstorms in new England look like little rain showers compared to back home. We have real thunderstorms! And contrary to what you see on tv, most tornados do no damage at all to populated centers. Most of the time they come down out in the middle of no where and maybe destroy a barn or two. What you guys don’t realize is that in western Oklahoma or a lot of Kansas, etc, you can drive for miles and never see a town. Unlike here where there are towns next to each other, in Oklahoma a lot of the area is just miles and miles of farm land out in the county’s and not near a town. I own farm land in western Oklahoma and its 8 miles to the nearest town. And it only has 1500 people.

      1. Want someone to live on that farm and take care of it? I’d love a town of 1500

        Remember we are not competing with other areas. We are just enjoying what we have

      2. Brad, I have experienced some big boomers here in New England including last summer (June especially). I would hate to see what those “real” thunderstorms you speak of back in your hometown are like, lol. 🙂

        Having said that, my late grandmother, who grew up in Virginia used to describe the thunderstorms there much like you have. Do we in NE really have “weaker” thunderstorms compared to the rest of the CONUS realtively speaking?

          1. Yea, new England boomers are pretty weak. There’s not enough really hot air mixing with really cold air loft. That’s what makes a big strong boomer. It doesnt get hot enough here for the most part to get a storm tall enough to get enough wind shear to make a good one. As bad as the tornados were last June first, it was pretty weak really. We get those kind too, but those aren’t the big ones. I’ve seen them literally a mile wide. They sound like a freight train just beatin the heck out of the track.

  9. I am glad we don’t get the hail they get in the Plains where it could do serious damage. I think the biggest hail I have ever seen here is quarter size hai.

    1. Hail is nasty. I’ve seen it the size of softballs. That size hail will beat the tar out of every roof. Cars are basically destroyed. Most of ya Nicole size or less. The big stuff is pretty rare. You need a BIG thunderstorm with a top in air that’s really cold with a huge up draft. You need a big updraft to keep that ice circulating up there to keep a hail stone in the air long enough to get that big. When. Cloud gets that much hail in it, it looks green. That’s the way you can tell if a cloud has hail in it. Back home, you can see 20 miles in the distance so you can track these things visually.

  10. Matt Noyes just said he is going to give his outlook for the remainder of May in his second segment on the news at 9.

      1. He said that we will end up being near normal for both precip and temps for the month. The average high will go from the low 60’s at the beginning of the month to around 70 by the end of the month. He said we could see a warm or cold day or days but in the end it will end up being a near normal month.

  11. Maybe some breaks later on but basically another grey day. Eastern satellite loop shows lots of clouds – some breaks out in Eastern NY.

    http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/eaus/flash-vis.html

    Worcester weather (162.555) says possibility of thunderstorms in central and western New England tomorrow w/warm front. At this point, doesn’t look like warm front will get too far east.

    Silly question: why do we all tend to say “there will be thunder and lightning” when actually the lightning comes before the thunder? I know – silly question. Maybe it’s easier to say it that way? 🙂

    1. I think I know that answer. If I remember correctly both happen at the same time but light travels faster than sound so it appears the lightening comes first. Please someone correct me if I’m wrong.

      How are your allergies rainshine? I woke up with what I call a “bampa throat” and tons of pressure in my eyes. My kids called my dad bampa and he was always clearing his throat. I don’t think I like this allergy thing and it must be horrible for those who always suffer if it even has those of us who’ve never had a problem affected.

      1. You could be right, Vicki regarding the lightning. I hope someone can answer that because I always thought the lightning comes first. If I’m wrong – shows that I am not as weather-savvy as I thought! 🙂

        My allergies are lousy. When it was dry out and we had no rain my allergy was bad. With the rain and dampness it is still bad. I was diagnosed rhinitis years ago. I tried all sorts of medications through the years and they never really helped – some you have to wait a long time for them to start working. Now I just live with it, taking an occasional aspirin if I get a sinus headache that lasts.

      2. Hope you feel better – sounds like you have allergy in your sinuses. I have that – it is lousy.

        1. Thanks rainshine! Mine is far less bothersome I think and I sure hope you feel better.

      3. it stinks. It smacked me in the face about a week ago. But it is a little better since i have been taken my allergy medicine the last few days.

        1. I’m glad you’re feeling better, matt. I hope you have a good beach summer, too! It sounds like you have a lot of fun and excitement ahead of you – I remember my senior days in high school and getting ready for graduation. Lots of great memories!

          1. class day, they actually having an organized senior skip day at hampton next week.(field trip form required)
            class day, senior awards, Senior prom and graduation …. parties . I agree. But still nervous about college 🙂

            1. You will do fine! It’s a new experience and can be scary but you will find other new students like you and before you know it you will feel at home!

            2. It might help to remember that every other person there with you is just as nervous. We all were.

  12. 14 more days of senior classes 😀 then fun after that. It better get nice in the 70s and 80s by then which does not seem to be happening. It seems the weather is not coroperating with me. I wanted 7 to 10 snow days. that did not happen. I wanted may to be warm and sunny and i hope for a good beach summer

    1. These last few weeks are one of the best memories of my life. Not to top my husband, kids and grandkids of course. I hope you enjoy them, Matt! I wish I’d realized at the time just how special they were although that didn’t stop me from having fun 🙂

      1. I second what Vicki says….I would love to go back to my senior year of high school. Embrace these final days because you will miss it.

      2. when you have a daughter who is starting to date even the best of the best worries you!!! Actually, my guess is my son would have happily submitted that to anyone his sisters dated too.

        1. well i guess the mother of the girl I just went on a date with did not mind 😀

    3. My daughter just came into the room and asked what in heavens name I was laughing at……………..hysterical!

  15. i know this is not a sports page but Junior Seau dies at 43. He had alot of life left in him 🙁

    1. Matt such a sad loss. Don’t know what to do about concussions in that sport …………..

      1. Yesterday I read an article online regarding that 1994 San Diego Super Bowl team in which 8 team members have died under mysterious circumstances…all under the age of 45.

        I guess that team is obviously “cursed” by I don’t understand why. 😕 😕

    1. Only in new England. Pass the Prozac please. This weather like today for a week at a time is why I can’t stand this place sometimes. It’s 48 degrees where I am and it’s may 3rd. Pitiful any way you look at it.

  17. The sun has been in and out her the last hr still mainly cloudy but temp has shot up to 56.9

    1. sun????? what’s that again?

      husband’s golf was cancelled – what’s the matter with these golfers. He’s taking a page from AceMaster’s book and heading to the course to practice.

    1. Yes we are, JJ – I was thinking that last night. But doesn’t it make us appreciate the great weather just that much more when it finally arrives. It’s like the magic that surrounds Christmas. I LOVE Christmas but if it were every day then the special magic would be taken out of it.

  19. Speed of light: 186,000 miles per second.
    Speed of sound: 1100 feet per second.

    Lightning & thunder occur at the same time but the #’s above tell you why the further away you are from the lightning the greater the separation between light and sound. =)

    Confession: I don’t mind this weather at all. It’s just part of New England’s climate. I tend to get more done during these stretches too.

    Note: The blog is updated!

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