There’s nothing scary with our weather this week in New York City. We’re looking at a cool start to the week, followed by a gradual warmup with a chance at rain towards the later part of this week. We received a couple rounds of drenching rains last week and yesterday, which will help the drought conditions somewhat, but it’s still not nearly enough to make up the deficit we’ve had this year.
Rest of today – clear, with a high in the low-50s after the passage of the cold front that brought us heavy rain yesterday. Trick or treating weather conditions should be just fine, though a bit on the cool side with lows dropping into upper-30s and around 40ºF tonight.
Tuesday – milder, sunny, with a high of around 60ºF in the city.
Wednesday – a warm front will push through early Wednesday. This will open the door to warmer air flowing around a high pressure center over the Southeast and an advancing cold front from the west. Temperatures will rise into the mid-60s with increasing clouds.
Thursday – even warmer still before this cold front above actually hits us. High temperatures expected to be in the upper-60s to near 70ºF. Some chances for showers later in the day into the overnight hours.
Drought Likely to Persist
Despite having received several inches of rain over the last couple of weeks, the seasonal outlook for our area continues to point to persistent moderate to severe drought. We hope to see some good snowfall like last winter that could bust the drought later on.
This weekend we will see a brief warmup in temperatures. Saturday will have the best weather, with another round of rain likely for later in the day Sunday. Temperatures dip back below normal Monday to start off next week.
Rest of today – it’ll be a mostly sunny day. However, a tight pressure gradient around the low pressure and storm system that brought us moderate to heavy rain yesterday will result in stiff winds from the northwest. Temperatures will be below normal in the upper-50s.
Saturday – a very pleasant day on tap with temperatures bouncing back nicely into the low-60s, not too much wind and mostly sunny skies.
Sunday – a cold front will be draped from west to east across the Northeast and push through late Sunday. Temperatures ahead of the frontal boundary will be quite mild in the low-70s with mostly cloudy skies. We get another chance at much needed rain with this frontal passage.
Monday – temperatures fall back into the upper-50s as a result of the cold front passing through Sunday. Mostly sunny skies though.
Autumn weather is here in earnest. In a remarkable change from last week, we’ll see high temperatures below normal for most days. Temperatures will range 30ºF cooler than this time last week. As we look ahead towards the winter, there are mixed signals about whether this will be a cooler, warmer, or average winter.
Rest of today – sunny, breezy, with a high near 60ºF. Northwest winds around 15mph, gusting to 30mph.
Tuesday – mostly sunny, breezy again especially later with northwest winds again between 15-20mph. Cooler, with high temperatures in the mid-50s. With the wind, it will feel quite cool for this time of year.
Wednesday – winds should ease up a bit, but will be cool again with high temperatures potentially only in the low-50s.
Thursday – temperatures rise back into the mid-50s with the approach of a storm system from the west that should bring a chance for rain, increasing through the day.
Winter Outlook
Meteorologists are less confident that we’ll have a La Niña this coming winter, which makes the winter climate outlook more uncertain. There are indications that temperatures may be a bit milder overall. However, that doesn’t preclude the possibility of some serious cold spells also.
There are conflicting forecasts that call for a colder than normal winter also, which you can read about on Weather Underground. Unfortunately, there is no indication we’ll get above average precipitation, which would be welcomed considering most of the Northeast is still dealing with an increasingly serious drought.
This week has seen unprecedented and record breaking warmth for the middle of October, with temperatures that were more indicative of mid-June. But this weekend, we’re about to get a dose of reality as temperatures drop dramatically to below normal levels, in some cases 25ºF cooler than mid-week. We get some chances for much needed rain as well with some uncertainty due to the interaction of a possible tropical/subtropical system.
Rest of today – cloudy with a high around 70ºF. Chance of rain late in the day and into the overnight hours.
Friday – chances for rain increase throughout the day and especially in the evening and overnight hours. Interaction with a possible tropical/subtropical system complicates the forecast in terms of where the heaviest rain sets up. High temperatures in the mid-70s and mostly cloudy.
Saturday – the National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area of disturbed weather off the Bahamas that they’re giving a 50% of becoming a named tropical/subtropical system in the next few days. Regardless of whether a named storm forms, this system is expected to merge with an approaching cold front Saturday. This would give the cold front an extra shot of energy and moisture, though it would appear that the bulk of this moisture and rain falls well north of the area. Behind this cold front, the pressure gradient tightens and cold air rushes in from Canada, resulting in a blustery, though sunny, day with high temperatures struggling to hit 60ºF and a brisk northwest wind.
Sunday – winds die down, and temperatures rebound to average levels in the low-60s under mostly sunny skies.
We did end up getting rainier, windier weather last weekend than expected because of the lingering influence of Post-Tropical Storm Matthew as it got absorbed by a cold front. This cold front is what’s brought us the first real blast of autumn chill. This trend will reverse itself the next couple days. Cooler air returns for the weekend.
Rest of today – seasonable with highs in the mid-60s and mostly sunny skies.
Wednesday – warmer, with a cold front approaching from the west, warmer air will flow in from the south. This will allow temperatures to rise into the upper-60s under increasingly cloudy skies.
Thursday – a bit milder than Wednesday, with a possibility of temperatures reaching into the low-mid 70s. There is a slight chance for rain with the passage of the cold front, but this frontal passage looks in general to be a dry one.
Friday – colder air returns after the passage of the frontal boundary late Thursday. Temperatures return to seasonable levels in the low-60s under mostly sunny skies with overnight lows dipping to around 50ºF in the city and much cooler in the surrounding suburbs.
Saturday – another picture perfect autumn day with high temperatures in the low-60s and lots of sun.
Severe Drought Persists
We continue to suffer from a persistent and severe drought. We are more than 8″ below where we should be this time of year in terms of overall precipitation and the long term outlook does not call for any relief.
The main weather headline for this weekend was going to be about possible impacts from Hurricane Matthew. I’m glad to report it now appears the storm will miss us, but the good news for us translates for doubly bad news for Florida. We went from a possible hurricane/tropical storm impact this weekend to a weekend where we expect to see some decent, fall-like weather.
Rest of today – sunny with a high temperature in the low-70s.
Friday – sunny, slightly warmer with highs in the mid-70s. High pressure remains anchored over the area, blocking the progress of Matthew northward, and also giving us great weather.
Saturday – a cold front will approach from the west, clouds will increase overnight and there is a chance for rain on Saturday. Mostly cloudy otherwise with highs in the low-70s. Part of the reason Matthew is expected to miss the Northeast is because this frontal boundary was faster to approach than was forecast earlier. This means it will have a role in pushing Matthew out to sea, instead of lifting it north towards the coast here.
Sunday – noticeably cooler with below average high temperatures only in the mid-60s and skies clearing.
Hurricane Matthew No Longer a Threat to the Northeast – Could Hit Florida Twice
As of 11AM EDT, the National Hurricane Center‘s advisory showed that Hurricane Matthew had restrengthened into a robust Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 140mph. It had just moved past New Providence island in the Bahamas moving northwest at 14mph, having avoiding a direct landfall on the highly populated island where the capital Nassau sits. However, as we get more information in, it’s becoming clear that some areas of Haiti really got the worst case scenario. This video footage from the small town of Jeremie on the northern side of the western tip of the Tiburon Peninsula shows the catastrophic damage Matthew caused. Jeremie took a direct hit from the storm’s northeastern eyewall, the strongest part of the storm, as Matthew made landfall on Haiti as a Category 4 with 145mph winds. This gives you an idea of the raw power of the storm that’s now headed for Florida.
Satellite image of Matthew at 11AM EDT October 6th, 2016. Below: radar imagery from Miami shows Matthew’s eye.
Outlook for Matthew
Luckily for us, long-range forecast models show that Matthew no longer poses a threat to the Northeast. The flip side is that a fairly unprecedented scenario might befall Florida. Some models are suggesting that after Matthew moves offshore of the Carolinas, it may execute a large cyclonic loop, with the possibility of making a second landfall on South Florida later next week, albeit as a much weaker storm. First, Floridians all up and down the east coast, will have to contend with a dangerous Category 4 storm scraping along the shore or maybe making direct landfall. The coast scraper scenario would result in worse outcomes for Georgia and South Carolina, since reduced interaction with land will mean a stronger storm, as well as higher storm surge.
After a gloomy, but appropriately fall-like start October, this week looks like it will bring much improved weather. Temperatures are expected to be just below or at normal for the majority of the week. The big question mark in the long-term for weather in our region is the progress of Hurricane Matthew, which could impact the area this coming weekend.
Tuesday – mostly cloudy to start with gradual clearing and high temperatures in the upper-60s.
Wednesday – mostly sunny with high temperatures in the upper-60s. High pressure anchored over southeastern Canada will give us an extended period of nice weather.
Thursday – sunny, warmer with high temperatures in the low-70s.
Friday – sunny, with high temperatures in the low-70s.
Hurricane Matthew an Increasing Threat to the US East Coast
Hurricane Matthew as captured by one of NOAA’s geostationary satellites on Monday, Oct 3 at 5PM EDT.
Hurricane Matthew poses an imminent and possibly catastrophic threat to Haiti, and portions of Eastern Cuba. Heavy rains from rain bands associated with the storm have already begun falling over Hispaniola and have hit Jamaica as well. Matthew is a potent Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds at 140mph. It is expected to bring rainfall of 8-20″ across the region, with some places receive 7-11′ of storm surge.
Matthew has displayed a number of anomalous characteristics that have defied forecasters and experts best efforts at predicting its intensity. Matthew underwent a period of rapid intensification, going from tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane with 160mph winds in just under 36 hours. This puts Matthew in an exclusive circle of just a handful of storms in recorded history that have accomplished this feat. Even more amazing, Matthew underwent this rapid intensification in the face of strong southwesterly wind shear that would typically stall a storm’s growth or weaken it.
During much of its life, a large area of intense thunderstorms has accompanied Matthew, at times exceeding the actual storm center in size. Scientists are uncertain as yet what role this feature had in Matthew’s unusual intensification. This feature has been impacting Hispaniola.
Infrared satellite image of Hurricane Matthew as a strong Category 4, note the impressive area of intense thunderstorms east of the storm’s core.
Outlook for Hurricane Matthew
Matthew is expected to either skirt the extreme southwest peninsula of Haiti or make landfall there, then perhaps a secondary landfall on Eastern Cuba. The more interaction Matthew’s circulation has with the high terrain of these regions, the weaker it will get before entering the wide open, and warm waters of the Bahamas. It is expected to maintain major hurricane status (maximum sustained winds greater than 115mph) throughout most of the 4-5 forecast period.
Since even earlier today, major forecast models have come into much better agreement about the path of Matthew in the longer term. The unfortunate news is that the models have settled on solutions that push Matthew further to the west than previous runs. This dramatically increases the chances of a landfall somewhere on the Southeastern US, with Florida also in the range of possible tracks. Should this scenario unfold, we would be spared from a direct landfall here, but would still receive a storm of considerable strength with strong winds and heavy rains possible.
