Tag Archives: nyc weather

NYC Weather Update – Jan 20, 2015

January 20, 2015NYC, Snow, Storms, Weather Updatealberta clipper, clipper system, coastal low, gfs, nam, new york city weather, nyc weather, nyc wx, snow, weather, wxLei Zhao

NYC gets brushed by a fast-moving Alberta Clipper system, with the potential for some light accumulating snow across the area Wednesday afternoon and evening. High pressure builds behind the clipper system Thursday and Friday, with high temperatures about average for this time of year. There’s some potential for a coastal storm approaching on Saturday/Saturday night, but with considerable uncertainty at this time, it remains to be seen if this scenario pans out, and if it results in snow or rain or a mix of wintry precipitation.

Wednesday – clouds increasing through the day with high temperatures in the mid-30s. Flurries may develop in the afternoon, however, the bulk of any snow is more likely to occur later in the evening and overnight. Max accumulations of 2″ in the city (1″ is more likely).

nam-hires_namer_033_1000_850_thick — NAM model showing precipitation over the area Wednesday, as a clipper system transfers its energy over to a coastal low which will remain well offshore.

Thursday – mostly cloudy day with some snow flurries possibly lingering into the morning. High temperatures around the mid-30s.

Friday – high pressure continues to build over the region with skies clearing and high temperatures again in the mid-30s.

Saturday – forecast models are hinting at a coastal storm for Saturday. Right now, it appears as though the storm track brings the center of the low slightly to the east of the 40ºN 70ºW benchmark. Temperature profiles in the area also appear to be around the freezing mark. This will bear monitoring, as a slight westward jog of the storm track and a cooler temperature profile could result in some significant snow.

NYC Weekend Weather – Jan 15, 2014

January 15, 2015NYC, Rain, Snow, Storms, Weather Update, Weekendcoastal low, cold front, high pressure, low pressure, new york city weather, nyc weather, nyc wx, pressure gradient, warm front, weather, weekend weather, wxLei Zhao

We end this week off with a windy day Friday, followed by an intrusion of cold air on Saturday before a warmup Sunday that should be accompanied by some rain during the day, then possibly a mix of rain and snow Sunday night. Some chance of snow persists into early Monday.

Friday – a cold front dropping from Canada will tighten the pressure gradient ahead of it, bringing with it breezy west-northwest winds between 15-25mph during the day tomorrow. High temperatures will be about normal in the upper 30s, but with wind chill values only in the 20s.

Saturday – subsequent to the passage of that cold front, we get another shot of cold, arctic air, with temperatures on Saturday struggling to even reach 30 in the city, and only in the 20s elsewhere.

Sunday – a low pressure system will be moving steadily northeast into Quebec by Sunday. This storm system will have a trailing cold front as well as a preceding warm front. We should enter the warm sector behind the warm front passing over us Sunday. This will allow for temperatures to rise into the mid-40s (possibly higher in a few spots). There will be a transfer of energy to a secondary low pressure center which is forecast to form off the Mid-Atlantic coast. This will result in the chance for us to get a few periods of moderate-heavy rain on Sunday, especially in the afternoon hours. As the coastal low moves off to the northeast, rain should taper down during the overnight hours into Monday, and temperatures will be cold enough to support a chance of rain/snow mix.

Monday – snow showers should end early Monday. High temperatures will be about average for this time of year, in the upper 30s.

NYC Weather Update – Jan 12, 2015

January 12, 2015NYC, Rain, Weather Updatearctic high, cold front, high pressure, nyc weather, nyc weather forecast, nyc wx, weather, wxLei Zhao

We start this week with a mixed bag of precipitation, currently rain, but eventually back to a wintry mix before ending. The rest of the week will be dry, with colder days on tap for the mid-week period before another warming trend to end things off.

Tuesday – once the storm system that’s responsible for today’s rain and mixed precipitation moves away, a cold front will usher in a strong area of high pressure that will dominate our weather for the mid-week period. This high pressure area will allow cold Canadian air to flow into the area from the north. High temperatures will struggle to reach the freezing mark, while a steady north wind will ensure wind chills in the teens.

Wednesday – will be similar to Tuesday in terms of sensible weather with highs in the low 30s, and partly sunny skies.

Thursday – another partly sunny day, but with slightly warmer temperatures in the mid-upper 30s, near normal.

Friday – should be essentially the same as Thursday with highs again in the mid-upper 30s. Doesn’t look like we’ll get any chance for precipitation throughout the end of the week and weekend.

NYC New Years Weather Update – Dec 29, 2014

December 29, 2014NYC, Weather Update2014 new years eve weather, 2014 nye weather nyc, new years eve, new years eve weather, nyc weather, nyc weather forecast, nyc wx, nye wx, weather, wxLei Zhao

2015 is right around the corner, and I’m happy to report that weather conditions will be dry, though on the cold side for New Year’s Eve festivities and for New Year’s Day (we’re talking lows in the upper 20s in the city, daytime highs in the mid-30s). This cold but fair weather pattern holds through the week, with a slight warmup ahead of a storm system moving in Saturday & Sunday.

Tuesday – partly sunny day with highs in the upper 30s. However, north winds will yield wind chill values closer to 30.

Wednesday (New Year’s Eve) – with high pressure building to our west, and a low pressure system well to our north, things will stay dry and mostly sunny for your New Year’s Eve outings. The downside is that winds will remain moderate and push wind chill values into the 20s with daytime highs in the mid-30s. Overnight lows New Year’s Eve will be in the mid 20s, with wind chills in the teens.

Thursday – basically a repeat of Wednesday, with high temperatures hovering in the mid-30s and mostly sunny skies.

Friday – still cold, with highs in the upper 30s, though winds should abate slightly.

This weekend, we’ll see a storm system approach from the southwest and track to the Great Lakes region. The storm system should allow for some slightly warmer air to enter the region ahead of it, but we’re still only talking high temperatures only in the mid 40s. Best chance of rain will be Sunday.

NYC Christmas Weather Update – Dec 24, 2014

December 24, 2014NYC, Rain, Thunderstorms, Weather Update, Weekendchristmas weather, cold front, gfs, holiday weather, nam, nyc weather, nyc wx, rain, warm front, xmas, xmas wx, xmas wx nycLei Zhao

A foggy start to the busy travel day for many will feature periods of locally heavy rain and gusty winds later this morning into the early afternoon. Near record warmth with high temperatures in the low 60s today will give way to cooler but calmer weather going into the holiday weekend before another round of unsettled weather early-mid next week.

Today – foggy conditions will be a prelude to a stormy Christmas Eve. An approaching warm front will move through shortly and allow for a surge of warm air to raise temperatures into the low 60s. Along with this, there looks to be a period of widespread showers in the late morning and early afternoon hours. Afterwards, there should be a lull in the rain before a second round of showers and possibly scattered thunderstorms associated with this storm system’s trailing cold front moves in. Winds will pick up ahead of and then behind this cold front. If you are traveling either by air or car, the latter part of the day could see some weather related disruptions and delays. Overnight lows will be very mild near 50.

NAM model stimulated radar image for 2PM EST, 12/24/2014

Christmas Day – conditions improve dramatically during the day in the wake of the cold front. Any lingering showers should end early in the morning with rapidly clearing skies accompanied by a gusty west wind. High temperatures in the mid-50s will actually be set early in the morning with temperatures dropping steadily during the day to the upper 40s later in the afternoon.

Friday – fair weather continues as an area of high pressure builds over the Eastern US. Partly cloudy with a mild high near 50.

Saturday – much the same as Friday with high pressure still in control. High again near 50.

Sunday – mostly cloudy with a chance of rain, slightly cooler with highs in the mid-40s. A frontal boundary may stall just south of us, setting up conditions for an extended period of unsettled weather next week.

NYC Weekend Weather Update – Dec 19, 2014

December 19, 2014NYC, Precipitation Type, Rain, Snow, Storms, Weather Update, Weekendchristmas weather, high pressure, low pressure, new york city weather, nyc weather, nyc weekend weather, nyc wx, rain, snow, storms, weather, weekend weather, white christmas, wxLei Zhao

This weekend will feature about normal temperatures for mid-December, with a small chance of rain/snow on Sunday. Relatively quiet weather during the weekend will give way to an active weather pattern for the first half of next week, with a robust storm system arriving Christmas Eve (all rain, sadly, so no white Christmas for us here in NYC).

Saturday – high pressure currently in control of the weather will erode as it moves east. Clouds cover will increase with high temperatures around 40.

Sunday – easterly winds off the ocean in the wake of high pressure centered over Atlantic Canada will bring some slight chance for precipitation. The lower atmosphere is fairly dry, and is not primed with moisture for precipitation. If precipitation does materialize, temperature profiles are low enough that some snow flakes could be seen, but the overall impact will be negligible. High temperatures will be in the low 40s with cloudy skies.

Monday – a significant storm system will be approaching our region from the Central Plains. Forecast models point to a primary low pressure center over the interior of the country while a secondary low forms along the coast. Ahead of this storm system, some scattered showers could pass over the area Monday. Otherwise, expect a mostly cloudy day with high temperatures in the mid-40s.

Tuesday – coverage of precipitation will increase on Tuesday as that secondary low pressure center draws closer to the area. Warmer, marine air will be in place before a warm front passes over. This should ensure that temperature profiles remain warm enough to preclude the possibility of snow. Temperatures may rise to as high as the 50 degree mark Tuesday.

This early-mid week storm will cause some travel headaches for Christmas, but fortunately, it does appear the majority of precipitation will be in the form of rain.

NYC Weekend Weather & West Coast Storm – Dec 2, 2014

December 4, 2014Climate, Cool Images, Drought, Flooding, Noreaster, NYC, Outside of NYC, Rain, Storms, Weather Update, Weekend, Western UScalifornia drought, california storm, climate, drought, flooding, heavy rain, meteorology, nyc weather, nyc wx, pac energy, pacific storm, rain, weather, west coastLei Zhao

It’s been a up and down week for weather in NYC, with Monday starting out in the mid-60s, then a colder mid-week that featured some mixed precipitation and rain. The end of this week will feature rain and slightly warmer temperatures by Saturday, then a return to colder conditions Sunday into next week. I’m also going to point out some of the spectacular weather brought on by a huge Pacific storm that hit California this week.

Thursday – the remainder of today will be pleasant and sunny, though cold with high temps only in the low 40s.

Friday – clouds will begin to build overnight tonight ahead of the a storm system moving in from the Southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. There is a small chance for scattered showers, otherwise expecting a cloudy day with highs in the mid-40s.

Saturday – rain should overspread the area by Friday night into Saturday. This storm system will be drawing on energy and moisture from the Pacific storm that slammed California earlier this week (discussed below). Combined with influx of Gulf moisture, this setup favors a moderate to at times heavy rain event for Saturday. Temperatures will rise steadily ahead of this storm system as it pushes warm air up. High temperatures Saturday should reach into the mid-50s despite rain and clouds.

gfs_namer_042_1000_850_thick — GFS model output for overnight Friday into Saturday

Sunday – rain should end overnight Saturday, and high pressure from Canada should quickly build in behind this storm system. The positioning of this high pressure, along with the exiting low, will make for a tight pressure gradient, which should allow for stiff northwest winds perhaps in the 15-25mph range. Temperatures will drop back into the low 40s with the arrival the colder Canadian air.

gfs_namer_084_1000_850_thick — GFS model output for Sunday night

Monday – the storm system from Saturday will move offshore, but it appears from model runs that there’s some chance the storm lingers. As the high pressure from Sunday moves off to the northeast, the clockwise flow behind it may draw this offshore area of low pressure back into the area. This could lead to some rain on Monday. It’ll be a mostly cloudy day otherwise with highs in the low 40s.

Pacific Storm Slams California

Earlier this week, California got slammed by a very strong Pacific low. This storm brought on furious rains that dropped 1″+ in many areas of Northern California, with totals as high as 3-4″ in spots near the Coast Range and Sierra, as well as further south in the mountains east of San Diego. These totals represent more rainfall than had fallen in many of these areas all of last year.

You can see from the map below which overlays drought conditions (the deeper the red, the more extreme the drought, with the darkest red representing extreme/record-breaking drought) with rainfall totals from yesterday. You’ll see that much of the heaviest rain did fall over regions worst affected by drought. Sadly, though this is a case of too much of a good thing, as much of this desperately needed rainfall occurred so quickly, it will simply runoff back into the ocean.

Screen Shot 2014-12-04 at 12.08.35 PM — Map of California with drought condition layer (reds/oranges), and rainfall totals from yesterday

NYC Weather – Pre-Thanksgiving Storm Back On

November 24, 2014Uncategorized40 70 benchmark, coastal low, coastal storm, meteorology, new york city weather, noreaster, nyc thanksgiving weather, nyc weather, nyc wx, snow, snow storm, thanksgiving, thanksgiving holiday weather, thanksgiving weather, weather, wxLei Zhao

It’s hard to believe now, with air temperatures still hovering around 60 at this hour on Monday, that by Wednesday, our entire region could be looking at accumulating snow! Over the weekend, it has become clear through progressive model runs that the mid-week storm that on Friday looked like it would miss us, is tracking to hit us on Wednesday, leading to a high impact storm just in time for the busiest travel day of the year. We’re talking the whole package: wind, rain, and snow.

Tuesday – we continue to stay in the warm sector of a low pressure system that will be exiting to our northeast through Quebec. Cloud cover will be minimal and we should see temperatures hold around the 60 degree mark.

Wednesday – a complex weather situation develops as a coastal low that forms offshore of the Georgia/Florida border Tuesday makes its way up the Northeast coast. Temperature profiles seem to be pointing towards a mostly snow event (the first big snow storm for the region). With the cold front pushing through late Tuesday, temperatures Wednesday will likely peak in the morning around 40 and start to drop slowly through the day as precipitation moves in across the area, generally from southwest to northeast. Wind will start to pick up, first from the southeast, then east and gradually becoming northeast between 25-35mph.

The tricky part about this forecast is that there is still enough uncertainty in the storm track for there to be some last minute changes. As it currently stands, the center of the strengthening coast low is forecast to move on top of or just west of the 40ºN 70ºW benchmark, a scenario that favors a high-impact nor’easter type event for our region. Winter storm watches are already up over much of the interior Northeast. In these areas, we are looking at anywhere from 4-10″+ (depending on where the heaviest band sets up). Along the coast, under the current forecast track and methodology, it is looking like enough rain mixes in during the day Wednesday to keep snow accumulations from topping 5-6″.

Again the storm track could change, and if the track moves slightly to the east, the heavier snow could hit the city, along with some colder air. Regardless, this does not bode well for people who are doing last-minute traveling for Thanksgiving. I would expect widespread flight delays, while traffic conditions on the road could deteriorate quickly especially later in the day with temperatures dropping and snow beginning to stick.

Thursday – Thanksgiving Day itself looks like it will be OK for the parade, and other activities. The coastal storm will have pulled to our northeast, and any lingering effects should clear up early. Temperatures will be around the 40 degree mark in the city, which means that snow which accumulates will not melt all that quickly.

Friday – will be the coldest day of the holiday stretch, with temperatures only in the mid-30s. Areas of snow that have melted during Thursday could re-freeze.

The remainder of the holiday weekend looks good so far, with no major precipitation anticipated until Sunday/Monday.

NYC Weather Update – Nov 17, 2014

November 17, 2014Climate, NYC, Rain, Storms, Weather Updatearctic air, cold, cold front, cold spell, new york city weather, nyc weather, nyc wx, warm front, weather, wind chill, winterLei Zhao

The main headline for weather this week will be bitterly cold temperatures that are highly abnormal (in fact, possibly record setting) for this time of the year. We’re talking lows on Wednesday morning in the low 20s in the city, teens and even single digits north and west, and wind chill values in the single digits with a stiff west wind. The cold air finally breaks this weekend, though, with the arrival of a storm system that will push warm air in from the southwest.

Tuesday – high temperatures tomorrow will only be in the mid-30s under sunny skies following the passage of a cold front that’s currently right at our doorstep. Behind this front, breezy west winds between 20-25mph will pick up with wind gusts as high as 35mph. That will translate to wind chill values in the 20s for most of the day tomorrow.

Wednesday – we could break some records for lowest maximum and minimum temperatures Wednesday. Lows overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning may only be in the low 20s, and with a west wind still kicking around 20mph, wind chill values will be in the low teens by daybreak. Temperatures won’t rebound much during the day either, with a high temperature forecast to be barely at the freezing mark.

Thursday – temperatures should rebound considerably with the passage of a warm front late Wednesday and prior to another cold front passing later Thursday. High temperatures should reach the mid-40s. This front will be moisture-starved, so we’re not anticipating any precipitation.

Friday – temperatures will slide back into the upper 30s and low 40s after the cold front.

Warmup this Weekend

We finally snap this bitter cold spell with an influx of warm air from the Gulf streaming ahead of a storm system that will move in next Monday. This weekend should feature gradually warming temperatures, and by next Monday we could hit 60 briefly.

NYC Weekend Weather – Nov 14, 2014

November 14, 2014Noreaster, NYC, Rain, Snow, Storms, Weather Update, Weekendcold, fall, new york city weather, noreasters, nyc, nyc weather, nyc weekend weather, nyc weekend wx, nyc wx, rain, snow, weekend weather, winter, winter weatherLei Zhao

You can feel the chill in the air now. This cold will continue Saturday, but we’ll get a slight warmup Sunday and Monday ahead of a low pressure system moving in from the southwest. Behind that low pressure system, we get a reinforcing blast of arctic air that will be entrenched through the rest of next week. I’m also monitoring the potential for a Nor’easter just in time for the busy travel day Wednesday and through Thanksgiving.

Saturday – a cold day on tap despite ample sunshine. High temperatures will be generally in the lower 40s. There’ll be a noticeable northwest wind making it feel like it’s in the 30s.

Sunday – a milder day with warm air flowing in ahead of a low pressure system, but by warm, I mean highs only around 50. Clouds will increase throughout the day and there could be some rain Sunday night.

Monday – rain will be falling for the majority of the day, with highs in the city in the mid-40s. Monday night gets interesting with the potential for a rain/snow mix in the city, and all snow in interior regions north and west. Depending on the timing of the main slug of precipitation with this system, we could actually get some accumulating snow in the city also (the later in the night the main body of precipitation falls, the colder it will be, and the better the conditions for snow).Tuesday – cold air rushes back in behind this storm on Monday and we drop back into high temperatures hovering in the low 40s.

Potential Thanksgiving Nor’easter?

In looking ahead at the long-term GFS model output, I’m noting the possibility for a possible high-impact Nor’easter that would be timed to coincide with the busiest travel day right before and then during Thanksgiving. Of course, this far out, there’s still considerable uncertainty to the forecast, so this scenario could not pan out, or the storm track could be nowhere close to where it needs to be to produce a high-impact Nor’easter. Still, it’s worth watching, as it could be a major headache for folks if it does materialize.

LZ | Weather

Weather updates & posts for NYC region