The Week Ahead

205 Comments

1:58AM

COMMENTARY…
It’s old news by now, but Boston has done it. As cold air came down from the north and was also dragged down from above by rain to snow showers Sunday afternoon, the snow showers become moderate to heavy and deposited 2.9 inches of snow at Logan Airport, the official measuring site (whether you approve or not), taking the seasonal snowfall total-to-date to 108.6 inches, surpassing the old record of 107.6 inches set back in the 1995-1996 Winter. So, it’s done now, right? Come on, you know better. Snow chances dwindle as we head into Spring, and the Astronomical version of that season begins on Friday morning. But the weather doesn’t really care what the calendar says, and so I can assure you as we head through the final weeks of March and into the early days of April, though we won’t be talking about relentless cold and a barrage of snowstorms that we endured from late January through February, we’ll be watching a few more snow threats. That’s how it goes around here. History shows it, and you know it.

SUMMARY…
Here in New England we remain in a cold corner of the country. The recent pattern was locked in with this, and even though there has been some relaxation of the pattern, it still remains somewhat in place and will continue to be in place for some time. Meanwhile, much of the US enjoyed fairly warm weather for March. This air would push eastward and eventually reach the Northeast but a flow out of Canada will cut it off, and will do it in a big way in the form of a cold front that will come through here on Tuesday, with a secondary reinforcement early Wednesday. So after a not-too-bad Monday, temperature-wise, with a good deal of sun, Tuesday will bring lots of clouds but with mild enough air so that the showers accompanying the cold front will be in the form of rain. Then, in comes the cold. And the potential for snow showers will exist early Wednesday along the secondary front. Then it’s dry and cold from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday as high pressure from Canada takes over. By Friday, as the air mass moderates, along will come low pressure out of the southeastern US and off the Mid Atlantic Coast by later in the day as a narrow ridge of high pressure hangs on to the north of southern New England. This will result in an onshore flow and Friday will likely turn out cloudy. Whether or not some wet weather makes it from the south remains to be seen. The weekend looks unsettled but I’m not quite sure how things are going to play out yet, so I’ll leave it at that for now and revisit this in the next couple days.

SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND FORECAST…
OVERNIGHT: Clearing. Lows in the 20s. Wind NW 10-20 MPH, higher gusts.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs in the 40s. Wind W 5-15 MPH, higher gusts.
MONDAY NIGHT: Clouding up. Lows in the 30s. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy with passing rain showers morning. Variably cloudy afternoon. Highs in the 40s. Wind W 10-20 MPH with higher gusts, shifting to NW.
WEDNESDAY: Variably cloudy with a chance of snow showers morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Very windy. Low 20. Highs 30.
THURSDAY: Sunny. Low 15. High 35.
FRIDAY: Cloudy. Low 30. Highs 40.
SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain/mix early. Low 35. High 45.
SUNDAY: Partly sunny. Chance of rain/snow showers. Low 30. High 40.

205 thoughts on “The Week Ahead”

      1. They are. I don’t like window being boarded up tho. I like being able to see out. Are your leaks all set??

  4. Regarding Boston’s new snowfall mark, Mayor Walsh tweeted out that Boston is all about winning titles, but that there won’t be a parade.

  5. Thanks TK.

    Such a sense of relief about the breaking the record. Now I am ready to put this winter behind us and hope and pray for some nice spring weather.

  6. Driving thru hopkinton and Milford am surprised the snow depth is not as deep as it seemed in Framingham. Sitting in Milford now and I’d say it is 8-10 majority with a few bare spots

  7. Good morning!! Chilly morning!!! The Lawncare season has begun!! Finally!! We r in E.Greenwich Coventry Rhode Island applying Lime visits. We won’t be in Bristol and Norfolk counties until next week.

    TK any big rainstorms next week? I know this week is a good work week but next week, thank u in advance 🙂

    1. Wow Charlie . I believe you when you say it but lime apps now in this cold weather. I would never let sombody put anything on my lawn this time of year at all. Just think it’s kind of weird.

  9. Here at the office in Roxbury, about the same 1/2 inch or so, perhaps 3/4 inch on a streeeeetch.

    Looking over the charts for the big Vernal Equinox snow storm he he he

    The GFS has a “Low Rider”>/i>

    http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gfs/2015031606/gfs_mslp_pcpn_frzn_us_20.png

    The CMC has a direct hit even with a touch of rain and/or mix:

    http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gem/2015031600/gem_mslp_pcpn_frzn_us_22.png

    http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gem/2015031600/gem_asnow_neus_25.png

    Euro is in between the 2 with a mostly miss, but slight graze

    http://i.imgur.com/2Z97hdO.png

    Trust me it doesn’t come up. Next image is OTS. I can only place 4 links in a single post.

  11. Charlie, I think your enthusiasm for spring is fine. And, I completely understand that in your line of work spring-like weather is important. However, I sincerely do not believe that this week or next will be conducive to lawn work. Maybe on Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, or Cuttyhunk (Elizabeth Islands). But, I can’t imagine anywhere else in New England, even the Rhode Island coast which I know pretty well.

    1. It’s impossible. I emailed a friend of my dad who lives in southern RI and 85% of their yard is covered in snow. I get that you ready to work Charlie but no way it’s happening this week or next.

  12. Thanks, TK.

    Snow has melted a lot here in Sudbury – but there is still a whole lot of snow left.

    1. Looking at the discussions of TK and JMA, somewhere between the 10th
      and 20th of April, call it the 15th, the SWITCH WILL BE TURNED!
      Then we can get into some of that warmth. The sooner the better as far
      as I’m concerned. I’m ready for SPRING! Bring it on!!!

      BUT, I fear a HOT SUMMER. Mrs. OS will have great difficulty. She does NOT
      tolerate the heat and humidity.

      1. I would start planning this now and start buying some nice a/c units before you can’t get them. I also believe it is going to be a hot summer.

        1. I’ve got plenty of AC units. The attic is full of them.
          The house is just too big to be adequately cooled by
          a bunch of window units.

          We usually run 3 window units. Kitchen, Living room (where we have the TV) and bedroom. Wish we could run one in the bathroom. (Yes it’s a rather large bathroom) I’ll have to look into that. 😀

  15. Funny how little it takes to change up the landscape…and I don’t mean snow. I went from clean, dry streets and driveway to an icy wonderland overnight. Worst ice I have had to deal with all season…luckily it will melt today.

  16. I’m heading off to Israel for 2 weeks. Will I still have snow in Natick when I return on March 30? I’m thinking, no snow in the yard, but still small piles from the snowblower around the driveway.

      1. I agree but there have been a few signals of a possible snow/mix event around March 28.

        1. Shhhh

          We don’t want no more stinken SNOW!!

          Yeah, I know. Nothing we can do about it. It will do what it wants to do.

          Ok, why not? Let’s SMASH the record while we are at it.

          With the melting going on, even IF we were to get
          another foot in a storm, it would not impact us severely.
          We could handle it now.

  17. I said back on January 1st when making my bold weather predictions this summer will be a lot hotter and a lot more 90 degree days this summer. I belive I predicted around 20 degree days for Boston.
    Those of you who love 3 H weather I think this will be your summer.

  18. It was great fun being downtown yesterday. I was at a friends place in a high-rise in the financial district, watching as the snow came down furiously for a short, but meaningful period of time. The gradient was indeed, very tight. When I got home to the south end, the was probably just about 1.5 inches of new snow on my car.

    Great to be here when the record was broken. We’re not done with snow yet, but I sympathize with those who are wish-casting that we are. I am one of you! 🙂

      1. Basic SSW Characteristics & Classification

        Like many atmospheric phenomenons such as hurricanes and tornadoes, SSW events exist on a continuum of size, intensity and effect, even though from the largest to the smallest, they all share a basic set of features, namely:

        1) They primarily take place during the Northern Hemisphere winter. Small and infrequent SSW’s do occur over the south pole, but, as you’ll see, there are precise reasons why they are mainly a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon, displaying yet one more reason why the planet is biased toward the advection of energy toward the North Pole versus the South Pole (but more on this later).

        2) They cause a rapid rise in stratospheric temperatures over extreme northern latitudes.

        3) They cause a rapid rise in stratosphere pressure over the extreme northern latitudes.

        4) They cause some level of wind pattern disturbance over the pole, with the larger ones displacing, disrupting, or outright destroying the polar vortex.

  22. This winter, PV didn’t get invited to the west, northwest, and mountain states. And, PV has already been dealt pretty much a lethal blow in the country’s mid-section, but also northern tier states like Minnesota and Wisconsin. Winter may make a futile attempt at coming back there, but it looks muted and feeble at this time. Our part of the country is different. We’re more under the influence this winter (well, since late January) from Eastern Canada. And, what I am seeing is that Eastern Canada remains cold for the foreseeable future. We will get periodic waves of cold for the next 3 weeks. Obviously not like February. But spring is just not in the cards. Or, if it happens it will be notoriously short and the typical NE refrain will ensue: “spring happened on a Tuesday.”

    1. The idea is correct. Eastern Canada is cold and snowy. Period. Notice how much snow Northern NE may also get, but especially Quebec. I do believe that may verify. The wild card is whether enough cold air reaches SNE to impact us with snow. I believe it will a couple more times. I say this every year. It’s when Quebec City records warmer days than Boston that spring has finally arrived. QC is not often warmer than Boston, believe me. From late May until early April QC is colder than Boston about 95% of the time. But, from early April into mid May there are plenty of days that QC is warmer as the seabreeze and cutoff lows impact us, and QC is high and dry and no longer under the influence of Arctic highs. But until that time anything can happen in Boston, and nobody (myself included) can declare spring is here).

      1. You wrote:
        From late May until early April QC is colder than Boston about 95% of the time.
        Clearly you meant late March until early April?

  25. Hmmm
    Interesting from Tim Kelley

    Tim Kelley NECN ‏@SurfSkiWxMan 9m9 minutes ago Connecticut, USA
    Arctic Front crashing New England tomorrow will be something to behold. From 40s to 20s w possible white out squalls

    NAM shows a fair amount of qpf for tomorrow, but most is depicted as RAIN.

      1. perhaps behind the Secondary infusion of Arctic air which
        is NOT depicted on that map. 😀
        Then that wouldn’t be tomorrow, but rather Wednesday AM.

        So I’m still confused.

  27. I was at work yesterday so I missed the 2.9 inch snowfall that finally broke the all-time record. When I arrived home late last night I was not greeted with 2.9″ but more like a crusty coating. This is a perfect example of Logan NOT representing most of the Boston neighborhoods.

    At least the record is “officially” broken and we can now relax = 108.6″ 😀

    Any chance Boston sees 110″+ for a final total?? 😉

    1. Sure there is a chance. Will it? We don’t know. I guess we’ll know sometime
      in April.

      Waiting for the on again/off again GFS to get out past the 21st to
      see IF there are any changes. The GFS has been so good this Winter, I am
      hesitant to base anything on the other models.

      We shall see IF there is any consistency model to model with the 12Z runs.

  28. 12z GFS has trended Northward for the 21st. That’s a BAD sign if you do NOT like
    more snow. Not that this run is a direct hit, because it is not. Still brings snow in here, but more of a glancing blow. Here are several frames:

    http://www.instantweathermaps.com/GFS-php/showmap-conusncep.php?run=2015031612&var=PCPPRSTMP_2m&hour=111

    http://www.instantweathermaps.com/GFS-php/showmap-conusncep.php?run=2015031612&var=PCPPRSTMP_2m&hour=114

    http://www.instantweathermaps.com/GFS-php/showmap-conusncep.php?run=2015031612&var=PCPPRSTMP_2m&hour=117

    Snow map

    http://www.instantweathermaps.com/GFS-php/showmap-conussfc.php?run=2015031612&time=PER&var=ASNOWI&hour=123

    I am now in the Camp that this becomes a full throttle snow storm.
    A Vernal Equinox Special!!

    1. I have a feeling that this will have the full support of both the CMC and the EURO. Film at 11.

  30. That’s a pretty potent nor’easter on the 12z GFS for Fri night/Saturday and COLD right down to the south coast. 6″+ for a good portion of CT on that run. Any further shift north and this could get mighty interesting for the weekend.

  32. OS, I really did mean the 10 and a half month period from late May until early April Quebec City is colder than Boston about 95% of the time. The anomalous period, if you will, is often (not always!) early April until mid/late May. We get the notorious seabreeze and can be stuck in misery for days. Happens a lot in April, May, and sometimes even early June. This is when QC is often warmer than Boston, and sunnier, too.

    I think Tim Kelley is on to something. I’ve been thinking that squalls would pull through Massachusetts late Tuesday/early Wednesday for quite some time. Makes a lot of sense to me, and I doubt whether the models pick up on that as well as they would a regular storm. Consider the temp differential. The analogy would be T-storms in the summer as a front pulls through. The bigger the drop in temp the stronger the T-storms.

    1. Sorry, I was confused then because you went backwards from May to April.
      No worries. Thanks

    2. Models do not pick on that all that well. Sometimes more than others.
      See below from NWS. Not so bullish. 😀

  33. I just caught Barry’s 11:00 pm newscast last night and at the end he said that we still have to watch for more snow events in the coming weeks so I assume temps will remain below normal for the most part for awhile yet. It will be interesting what the overall landscape will look like come Easter Sunday April 5th.

    Will kids need tiny shovels for their Easter egg hunts? 😀

    1. As long as the sun is out we will see snow areas go down. Having mild tempatures will help. I believe tk was hinting at a warm day next week. So I do think snow will shrink down by Easter but we just need to see what the tempatures can bring us. I also suspect folks in some areas will indeed still have snow in there yard come Easter 4/5. I for one hope the kids do not need shovels for the egg hunt this year.

  34. Just changed my FB cover photo to another picture of our cat. Looking forward to some nice pictures of spring to put in FB. Some possible snow squalls tomorrow night? Hope that’s the last of the snow this winter – but I don’t think so. Wonder if there will be little snow piles still around in June! 🙂

  36. When I walk streets in my neighborhood of Dorchester, I can now remain on the sidewalks for the most part but there are still high piles at intersections which still require walking in the street. From what I can tell, there is still no street that you can stay on the sidewalk from beginning to end w/o having to go out into the street even for at least a few steps.

    1. Yes, indeed. And, there are cars on Beacon Hill side streets that are still covered in snow. They’re visible, but encased in snow and ice.

      1. Mine is finally uncovered for the most part. I’m surprised they are still covered but suspect the buildings may block the sun. Mine is south facing.

  37. It is not warm today. Went for a walk out on the Charles and there was still ice in the shaded parts on the sidewalk.

  39. I got a huge laugh when I mentioned to Mac’s oncologist we had broken the record (we were talking snow). His comment was “GOOD – now we can stop all of this nonsense.” Apparently, the friction exists beyond WHW. And he is a skier !

  40. 12z Canadian still on board for the Friday night/Saturday storm event. Looks colder than the 0z run as well but not as much as the GFS. All snow north of the Pike and snow to rain south of the Pike on that run.

  43. Now let’s see what the good ole boy Euro has to say.
    My guess is a bit farther North than 0Z run and remains COLD. We shall see.

    1. I would think so. Tis the time of year. It would certainly depend on
      the precipitation intensity.

      1. BUT if we have warming aloft, would be tough. Would have to come down intensely to overcome that and still would depend on
        how warm the layer was and also how thick it was.

        Right now, I’d lean towards it being cold enough for snow, at least from Boston north, but still too early to know for sure.

  47. Do we need this guy?

    Marc Bertrand retweeted
    Dianna Marie Russini ‏@NBCdianna 6m6 minutes ago
    It’s looking good in New England. Sources say it is “very likely” WR Stevie Johnson signs with The Patriots. Deal could get done today.

    If he comes, does Amendola go?

  48. One day last week someone told me that Stevan Ridley has gone to Minnesota. Is this correct??? I know that he tends to fumble a lot, but I thought the assistant coaches really worked on that.

    Please say this isn’t true…we need all the offense we can get with the defense pretty much now decimated to pieces. 😮

    1. Hadn’t heard that.

      This is all I have seen and this is 6 days old.

      March 10, 2015 9:44 am
      Report: Vikes could pursue Stevan Ridley if Adrian Peterson leaves
      by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com
      The Vikings have inquired about running back Stevan Ridley as a fallback option if Adrian Peterson doesn’t return to the team, reports the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ridley tore his ACL in the sixth game last season and finished with 340 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

  52. OS, Wow. Parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland may not see bare ground until June. I’m not kidding. That is some storm.

    I do think tomorrow’s cold front will bring snow squalls into the Boston area (overnight). As I mentioned, models sometimes have a hard time forecasting squalls and small cells of energy.

    1. Tim Kelley seems to agree with you and you could be correct. I am certainly NOT saying you are wrong at all. Just presenting what I see.

      Should be interesting tomorrow following radar and satellite.

      That storm depicted by the Euro is a Monster.

      I am hoping that Mark can post the snow numbers for those poor souls
      in Atlantic Canada.

  53. Interesting stuff….

    BlueHill Observatory ‏@bhobservatory 6m6 minutes ago
    Current snow on ground= 21″ and that’s an amazing 8.4″ of liquid. Better not warm up too fast.

    BlueHill Observatory ‏@bhobservatory 7m7 minutes ago
    At 144 inches, BHOSC is 0.4″ from our 130 record of 144.4″ set in 1995-96. Saturday storm could do it.

  54. Much colder today in Boston than forecast. Still icy on some sidewalks as I write this post. I should add this morning’s run and also my walk to work were the WORST this winter. Yes, on March 16th, the walkways were the iciest they’ve been all winter. This is mostly because none of the public walkways were treated or plowed. I think the city has thrown up its hands at this point.

    1. TOTALLY agreed. Between last night and this morning, I’m surprised I’m still standing upright!

    2. Joshua, our driveway was horrible too. We had to leave here at 6:15 and I ran out of ice melt so ended up putting down epsom salts. The car was totally frozen. Took me a while to get the door open.

  56. I see some football chatter. I would take Adrian Peterson on my team over Darren McFadden who the Cowboys signed last week and who has been injured a lot through the years and would be a downgrade compared to Demarco Murray. I don’t have to draft a RB in the draft this year. I won’t be drafting defensive players which we need.

    1. Couldn’t stomach Peterson, quite frankly. I think your Cowboys did a good job getting McFadden. He’s a very underrated player.

      Btw, do you think Kentucky can go undefeated this season?

  57. Eric does not seem to think there will be snow squalls in our area tomorrow.

    Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 10m10 minutes ago
    Short term: Winds will CRANK tomorrow PM, gusting over 50mph at times. Snow squalls likely higher slopes VT/NH.

  58. Joe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi 3m3 minutes ago
    ECWMF right in line with GFS on NE snow Friday.
    Winter not overt till after Easter this year. Big arctic shot Sun-Mon too

  60. Well they arrive at it differently, but the snow output tool of the 12zGFS/ECMWF/GGEM all deliver 3″ of snow to Boston Worcester Springfield Friday night / Saturday morning. That is some uniformity of predicted outcome this far out.

    You know what that means? None of those locations will end up with 3″ of snow being their actual total.

  61. Joshua I hope McFadden stays healthy for the Cowboys which is my biggest concern since the signing.
    I do think Kentucky will run the table and go undefeated. I did think they would have lost a game or two prior to the tournament when I made my prediction at the start of season. Texas A &M Ole Miss LSU came close to beating them especially Texas A &M losing into 2 overtimes to Kentucky back in January.
    My upsets in the early rounds Stephen F. Austin over Utah Eastern Washington over Georgetown Texas over Butler

    2. OS, the above snowmap is as far NE as I can get with the eurowx.com graphics. Doesn’t extend that far into Canadian Maritimes but I’m sure they will be getting smoked again tomorrow.

      1. Because I am procrastinating doing what I should be doing….

        Based on the 12z ECMWF Snow Output Tool

        Canadian Maritimes 12″ at 10:1 and 18″ at 15:1.

  63. Eric’s been on target most of the winter, so the squalls may indeed be confined to the mountains. They often deliver blizzard-like conditions for brief periods of time on the west and north-facing sides of mountains. Must check the Mt. Washington observatory late Tuesday/early Wednesday morning. My early prediction is for 130mph gusts (sustained winds over 100mph) and wind-chill around -55F (perhaps even a tad colder). Similar scenario to play out Sunday, but less vigorous a front. Charlie won’t be doing lawnwork at Pinkham Notch anytime soon.

    1. My guess is no. There will be plenty of cold enough air around and frequent storm chances through 4/1 per the 12z GFS.

        1. Wouldn’t it be something IF Winter goes out with a Bang this year. How about an Easter Block Buster? That
          would put the frosting on the cake, wouldn’t it? 😀

      2. Yes more chances, but this late week one I don’t think will end up being the best chance at the greatest widespread spring snow accumulation. Too much of this scream narrow line of best accumulation and weaker than currently modeled. Look for something later on towards the last days of March.

      1. There are a couple of big offshore ocean storms on the long range GFS that would be big trouble if they trend closer.

  65. The Arctic cold that arrives Sunday into Monday will not be the last shot of the season.

    The more I look at stuff in the short range, the bulk of what falls Tuesday morning will be rain showers but there may indeed by a snow shower or snow squall sometime in the midday or afternoon.

    The other trough on Wednesday may not produce more than isolated snow showers in an otherwise glaciated cumulus mixed with sunshine kind of Arctic sky. Probably lots of wind and blowing sand too.

  67. BlueHill Observatory ‏@bhobservatory 2m2 minutes ago
    Though the snow is half the depth of a few weeks ago, the water content is still over 8″.

  68. JMA… I agree about less of a threat late this week and possibly more of one toward month’s end.

    I’ve noticed that many people take the weather personally, as if mother nature is targeting them specifically, and that it’s some kind of insult. Nope! Alot of it is that people have the wrong perception of what weather actually is, and why it exists. But one of the aims of this blog is to educate on that subject, the execution of which will take place slowly.

    Did you know that records were made to be broken? Extremes happen. It’s not some bizarre thing that suddenly appeared to make it all go haywire. Do you think all extremes in our measured weather took place at some very early time in our history and we can never reach them again? Also remember that our methods of measurement have advanced incredibly in the last 50 years. We see things we never could see.

    How long have we been studying MJO? Let’s put this “all time strongest” into some perspective. MJO, discovered in 1971. Took some time before we were able to measure its phase and magnitude. Though I agree that a few decades have indeed gone by without it reaching this magnitude, at least according to our own measurements, it’s not earth-shattering. But somebody will turn it into something big in the name of a ratings-grabbing news item. And again that is where science is being misused. And to be frankly honest, it’s pissing me off and needs to stop.

    1. Well said.

      Here’s a prediction.

      There will be a 1 mile thick glacier covering the New England land mass some millennium and there will also be Palm trees in New England in some other millenium. That’s how insignificant our records are.

      1. Well stated!

        We had this discussion once before on this blog, but even
        Greenland was once green. True, it really was. I think it was
        Joshua who first mentioned it.

        And we can get into other things as well. It is all relative.
        The snow record is relevant for our lifetimes and perhaps our parents and for some grandparents at the very least, but that’s just about it. 😀

        1. Absolutely. And again I don’t like to really get into the whole “debate” too much. I have a very open mind. I have my doubts about certain things, and the only thing I feel confident in is the knowledge that we don’t know as much as we will know in time. And as I always say, not to sound like a broken record, I believe in proactivity to protect our world, within reason, since it can’t hurt. We have to have some impact, seeing as how we are part of the environment ourselves.

          1. Again well stated. I am pretty much in your camp except that I think we have already done more damage than you may think.

            It is just so difficult to pick out any slight changes that may be riding atop normal climate fluctuations, which makes the whole “debate”
            pretty ridiculous at times.

            I like your approach. Take care of our planet.
            It’s the only one we have. If there are doubts about something, err on the side of caution.

            For an excellent example, our approach to various fluorocarbons.

            http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/fgases.html

            We need to apply this approach elsewhere and I am not about to get into what I think those areas might be.

            1. Agreed OS but you know that. Coal is another area. It is one of our biggest pollutants. Nature is one thing. Nature didn’t pollute our waters or our land or our air. Reversing that is an absolute. It is what scares our kids…..as Matt demonstrated.

    2. Well, yes for sure.

      Even our illustrious snowfall record. How long have the records been kept?
      130 years or so. A mere pebble of sand on the beach compared to how long
      there has been weather. BUT that is what we have and so it goes.

      We’ll all deal with it one way or the other.

    2. Bummer. BUT I assume he got MORE than he would here, so good for him.
      Class Act. I wish him nothing but the best. We’ll miss him around here
      for sure.

      1. Good for him but what a shame as he should have retired a patriot. I just don’t get the pats and kraft is like what in the top 5 for richest person.

  70. This is insanity. I know, I know, records are made to be broken

    Ryan Maue ‏@RyanMaue 3m3 minutes ago
    Already 87°F in Lincoln Nebraska — record high was 81°
    87°F Goodland Kansas — record high was 83°

    1. Remember March 1999 in Boston? Upper 80s on the last 2 days of the month followed by a back door cold front in the early hours of April 1 that took us right back to the 40s.

  72. PROGRAMMING NOTE:

    Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 15m15 minutes ago
    Exciting: I get to return to @WeatherChannel tonight to talk about #Boston’s epic winter. Approximately at 6:40pm EDT.

  73. Retrac: “There will be a 1 mile thick glacier covering the New England land mass some millennium.” Count me in. I’m assuming it’ll be like Greenland with a few places that are inhabitable. Nahant, maybe?

    1. Nahant 🙂 Well the ice will be good considering we are running short on water……perhaps a bit late, however 🙁

  75. WOW!!!

    Ryan Maue ‏@RyanMaue 55s56 seconds ago
    Um, currently 91°F in North Platte, Nebraska. Forecast low tomorrow morning: 30°F and blustery!
    Back of the hand.

      1. Hmmm almost the same latitude as Boston. South by a little bit.

        North Platte: 41.1359° N, 100.7705° W
        Boston: 42.3601° N, 71.0589° W

        Amazing it can get that warm that far North at this time
        of year.

        1. It is, isnt it …….

          Parched ground in west and southwest continued with continued sst anomolies off of the US west coast …..

          Concerned about the next 4-6 months for that region.

          Everything seems to point towards a massive summertime ridge out there.

  76. Tim Kelley NECN ‏@SurfSkiWxMan 5m5 minutes ago Scituate, MA
    @NWSBoston last 2 times we broke record seasonal snowfall, ’94 & ’96, we went on to add about 7% more snow, if history repeats then 116″ ’15

    2. Can’t predict based on that stat though. Both patterns were totally different than the one we have now.

        2. I guess so ….

          Its a stretch, but …… 34F could be a late winterish temp and 91F is certainly summer-like.

          Thats crossing winter to spring to summer in perhaps 7 to 10 hours.

  78. Tim Kelley may be the most gung-ho about snow and winter (sports) of all local forecasters. I like his enthusiasm, and I like some of the weather-related pictures NECN posts. But, I agree with TK: `94 and `96 were different. This said, I think there’s more snow in winter’s arsenal. The arsenal’s depleted, and it has launched several duds in recent weeks. But, there’s bound to be a hit in there somewhere.

  80. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and this is true for both computer models and human forecasters, and pretty much everything else, in case you were wondering. 😉

    1. Yes. Memories are simultaneously too short and too long. A particularly popular forecaster basically went O for December and the first 3 weeks of January and then hit a home run everytime up the 3 weeks that followed. GFS had a great winter but has had numerous issues in the 60-168 range in since March 1.

      1. Continuous adjustment needed in the field of meteorology, as well as many other places, but for the purpose of this blog, meteorology is highlighted as a stand-out. 🙂

  81. Applied meteorology to each unique forecast period always helps, unless of course you don’t know meteorology….

    1. I always thought they were in opposite seasons as the northern hemisphere. Aren’t they transitioning from summer to fall?

    2. Sydney, Canada is in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

      Go all the way through Nova Scotia, then cross the Canso Causeway and Sydney is about 2-3 hrs on the northern part of Cape Breton island.

      1. I was thinking of Cape Breton on Saturday, pi day (3/14).

        Seemed many on facebook were thinking pie that day and Cape Breton has some of the best butterscotch pie I’ve ever had.

    1. I wouldnt have known 15 years ago. 🙂

      My wife has relatives up there and we go often during summer, but thats why I know.

  84. I have some Cape Breton weather stories ….

    One year, we went up there on April vacation.

    Drove all the way to the northern part of the island, right near Sydney.

    When you come into New Waterford, you come up the crest of a hill and from the top, you look about a mile ahead and all you can see is the Atlantic Ocean.

    Came over the hill that April day and all ice !! The OCEAN !!

    Probably covered up to 3 or 4 miles out to sea. Looked like the arctic ocean. It was amazing to look at it. Must have been a north wind holding the ice into shore.

    Will never forget what that looked like. 🙂

    1. Someday, I went to take the ferry from Sydney, Canada to Newfoundland.

      During late spring and head to the northern shore and watch the icebergs pass by.

  87. Tom, that’s the trip I envision myself taking at some point, too. In summer, by ferry to Nova Scotia, from there by ferry to Newfoundland, and from there by ferry to Labrador. Labrador has a 80 mile stretch of recently paved road from the southeastern tip near Forteau Bay and L’Anse-au-Loup to Goose Bay (going past the old towns of Battle Harbour and Cartwright). The other route I’d like to take would be in winter from Sept-Iles, Quebec to Schefferville, Quebec on a 12-hour train trip through true wilderness (western Labrador as well as parts of Northern Quebec). Between the two end-points the train stops when trappers and hunters request that the train stop. Sept-Iles is about an 8-hour drive northeast from Quebec City.

  88. Hello!! Looks like temps never get below freezing tonight 🙂
    Winter is over, you know it, I know it, everyone knows it, look outside, the memorable snow is down the drain, whether you like the snow or don’t, it’s amazing to see the landscape change over just 1 week. It was the snowcompalypse around here a week ago, now just some dirty snow banks.

    We are performing all the visits for limes in the southern third of the area and should be up into the Boston area in about 10-14 days. We start Fertilizations in 2 weeks or so, soils down in Coventry during mid afternoon today were in the mid 40’s. It won’t be long, enjoy your night 🙂

    1. Actually Winter ends on Friday morning. 🙂 Any snow that falls after that will be known as Spring snow.

      1. Meant to ask that. In theory if it snowed in July would that count as this years snow or next seasons snow? I know this is outlandish but I am curious the cutoff?

        1. June 30 is the final day of the snow season.
          July 1 is the first day of the next snow season.
          The “snow year” runs July 1 through June 30.
          It’s necessary since hail is included. It’s frozen precipitation, along with ice pellets and snow.

    2. 10:00PM observations…
      EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS
      BEVERLY PTCLDY 31 17 56 CALM 29.79F
      BEDFORD PTCLDY 30 20 66 CALM 29.79F
      NORWOOD CLEAR 29 21 72 CALM 29.81F
      TAUNTON CLEAR 31 25 78 CALM 29.81S
      MARTHAS VNYRD CLEAR 31 26 82 S6 29.83F WCI 25

      Did they re-define freezing? I didn’t get the memo…

    3. That snowcover is going to be so fertile in southern MA that you’ll be able to grow flowers out of it. 😉

  89. Wide range of geographic areas that are below freezing. Clearly it’s below in many locations but I guess we have a new definition of below freezing 🙂

  91. New blog posted!
    Not much warmth to be found. Though a couple nice days, temp-wise. Unfortunately they will both be windy so they won’t feel as mild.

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