The weekend starts of with a chill and below average temperatures before a warmup. Temperatures will be above average for the second half of the week. Next chance for precipitation will come with a storm system moving in Tuesday. Looking ahead, expecting that Punxsutaney will be right, and there will be a cooldown again.
Rest of today – clouds decrease slowly. Chilly with high temperatures struggling to hit freezing. Brisk northwest winds will keep windchills below 20ºF.
Saturday – with strong high pressure over the Ohio Valley, we’ll see clear skies. However, since we will be on the east side of this high pressure center, cold air will continue to flow in from Canada, keeping high temperatures at around freezing.
Sunday – as this high pressure moves east, and we end up on the west side of it, clockwise flow around it will bring warmer are to the area, and temperatures will rebound into the low-40s with mostly cloudy skies.
Monday – above average temperatures in the low-40s continue with partly cloudy skies.
Drought Improves
Recent beneficial rains and snows have improved the drought situation statewide. However, moderate to severe drought continues to plague the downstate region.
Apologies for the lack of updates recently. Winter weather has come in full force a few days ahead of the actual Winter Solstice. We’ll see possibly record-tying or record-breaking cold Friday in some parts of the area, our first measurable snowfall in the city this season, all while temperatures swing about 30ºF from now through Sunday. The medium term shows a continuance of average to below-average temperatures in the upper-30s and low-40s.
Rest of today – we had some passing snow showers this morning, and there will be another chance for snow showers this afternoon. The main story will be the wind, cold temperatures, and low wind chills. A wind advisory is in effect for today with a high wind warning in place for tonight. Sustained winds of 20-30mph are expected, with wind gusts between 40mph to as high as 60mph possible later. Combined with high temperatures only in the mid-20s, this will result in wind chills of between 0-10ºF in the city.
Friday – slightly colder than today with highs in the mid-20s, with a very cold start to the morning as overnight lows drop into the teens. Winds will slowly abate through the course of the day as the high pressure center depicted above moves east over us, lessening the pressure gradient. Overnight Friday, a warm front approaches and brings the possibility for 1-2″ of snow.
Saturday – the snow will continue into the first half of Saturday with the possibility of 1-2″ additional inches of accumulation before temperatures warm and winds turn towards the southwest. There is some question as to whether some period of freezing rain will occur before a transition to all rain from south to north in the afternoon hours. High temperatures rebound nicely into the upper-40s in the wake of the warm front passing through.
Sunday – a cold front will follow the passage of the warm front mentioned above, but that shouldn’t happen until late Sunday. Ahead of that cold front passing, temperatures will continue to warm into the low-mid 50s as rain continues to fall. That snow won’t stick around long!
The weather headline for this weekend will be bitterly cold temperatures that may have you reconsidering any plans to be outdoors during Valentine’s Day. The incoming airmass will definitely be the coldest of the year and the season thus far. The good news for us is that this Arctic airmass does not stick around for long, with temperatures expected to rebound nicely by early-mid week next week.
Rest of today – will be a preview of the cold coming our way with temperatures only topping out in the upper-20s. Scattered snow showers are possible (some of these snow showers are actually remnants of lake effect snows occurring hundreds of miles to our north and west). With west winds blowing in the 20-30mph range, wind chill will make it feel like 15-20ºF out there.
Friday – an Arctic cold front swings through overnight into Friday. Overnight lows will be in the upper-teens in the city and in the low-teens further north and west. High temperatures should rest in the mid-20s with increasing cloud cover as another impulse of energy makes its way in for Saturday.
Saturday – there will be a slight chance for snow showers overnight Friday into Saturday. Low temperatures will be only in the mid-teens, and with winds expected to pick up, wind chill values will hover in the single digits. Daytime highs Saturday will struggle to break 20ºF in the city. Northwest winds 25-30mph will lead to wind chills again only in the teens. As an impulse of energy pushes through Saturday morning, there may be some scattered snow showers before skies clear and things dry out.
Sunday – overnight lows Saturday into Sunday are going to be the coldest we’ve seen all year, with a low temperature in the city forecast at a mere 2ºF! Wind chill advisories will likely be posted for this period, with widespread below zero wind chills likely. Temperatures don’t rebound much during the day Sunday, with high temperatures only in the upper-teens.
Monday (President’s Day) – this is when the recovery in temperatures begins with high temperatures expected to go back up to around freezing. The next storm system looks like it will be moving through Tuesday, but it will also be accompanied by a much warmer airmass.
Warming Up Next Week
40ºF doesn’t sound all that warm, but you’ll welcome that next week as we see a return to above normal temperatures.
The main headline for the upcoming weekend and into next week will be the very cold airmass that will be spreading over the region, bringing with it what will likely be the coldest temperatures we’ve seen thus far this year. The coldest period over this stretch will be overnight Sunday into Monday, when low temperatures in the city could touch zero. If that does happen, it would be the first time the city has hit zero or below since January of 1994, according to National Weather Service records!
Friday – there will be a noticeable difference in daytime temperatures versus today. High temperatures are going to struggle to even hit the upper teens in the city, once the cold front responsible for the off and on flurries today passes through tonight. Overnight lows will again be in the low teens in the city, and colder in outlying suburbs.
Saturday – another clipper-type system will move quickly through the area on Saturday, setting off a period of snow showers that could end up dropping 1-2″ across the region. High temperatures will warm up slightly – if you can call a high near 30 a warm up! Overnight, winds will begin to pick up, with wind chills between -5ºF to -15ºF.
Sunday – a stiff northwest wind will pick up. The clipper system that passes Saturday will rapidly intensify as it moves over the Atlantic. This will set up an increasingly tight pressure gradient with a high pressure center over the Great Lakes. This setup will swing the door wide open for Arctic air to blast into the region. High temperatures Sunday will be in the mid-teens in the city, and overnight lows may be as cold as zero or just below zero. Regardless, the sustained northwest winds will yield wind chill values between -15ºF to -25ºF.
Monday, President’s Day – sunny skies, but that Arctic airmass will still be very much in control, with temperatures struggling to hit 20.
Tuesday – a return to temperatures near freezing again with an approaching low pressure system that will deliver our next chance at precipitation late Tuesday into Wednesday.
On the heels of the nor’easter earlier this week, we get another chance at snow tomorrow night into Friday, albeit of a much lighter intensity. Things get downright frigid after that with low temperatures Friday night in the single digits in the city, and wind chills below zero! The cold locks in over the weekend before we get another chance at precipitation to start off next week, continuing what has been an active weather pattern.
Thursday – clouds increase from west to east, with high temperatures hovering just above freezing. Precipitation begins overnight, and may include some rain/snow mix at the coast (all snow inland), but with minimal accumulations.
We get clipped by a clipper system Thursday night into Friday, with both NAM and GFS models pointing to us being on the periphery of the heavier precipitation.
Friday – light flurries continue into the morning Friday before ending, skies clear quickly while temperatures begin nosediving from a high in the mid-30s during the morning hours to the upper teens by sunset. Winds also pick up from the north and northwest as the departing clipper system from above deepens and the pressure gradient increases between it and a high pressure center over the Midwest. The combination of the cold temperatures and winds will likely induce wind chills below zero, so bundle up before you go out there Friday night.
Saturday – the deep freeze continues, with high temperatures only in the low 20s Saturday despite plenty of sunshine.
Sunday – another day of decent conditions, with clouds increase, but still cold with highs in the upper 20s. Sunday night into Monday, we get another shot at precipitation, although it’s a bit too early to nail down the specifics of this upcoming storm (whether it’ll be rain/snow, rain, or just snow, and how much).
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.
First up for the NYC area is a bitterly cold end to the work week.
A reinforcing arctic cold front is set to push through the area during the day today, perhaps spurring a few scattered moderate-heavy snow showers. Accumulation, if any, should be light. Behind this frontal boundary, a west wind between 15-20mph will usher in some of the coldest low temps we’ve seen in recent weeks. Lows in the city are forecast to be in the low teens, with zero to single digits in the interior. Wind chill values tomorrow morning will hover around zero.
Friday will be a sunny day with high pressure moving in. Despite the sunshine, temps will struggle into the 20s across the region.
Saturday, a weak frontal system moves through, but with dry atmospheric conditions, little if any snow is expected. Highs will be in the low-mid 30s.
Sunday-Monday, a prolonged winter weather event is forecast. The storm system currently impacting the west coast (see below) will move over the interior of the country, reorganize, and strengthen over the Midwest. This will lead to a stalled cold front draping across our region with multiple low pressure centers to slide along this front. One of these is forecast to develop into a potentially significant coastal storm. Models are coming into agreement that this storm center could pass close to the 40N 70W benchmark sweet spot.
The duration of the storm, starting Sunday night through Monday night means that it could result in significant snowfall, even with possible mixing in with sleet/rain near the coast during the day Monday. Still too early to tell how much snow – will keep monitoring the situation. High temps on Sunday will be in the mid 30s, then drop back into the low 30s for Monday.
Too much of a good thing for California?
As I noted in earlier posts, and as has been broadcast by the media, California remains in the grips of a crippling drought. A strong pacific storm system is spinning up multiple bands of heavy precipitation during the end of this week. While that is some good news for the drought, the intensity of the rainfall could lead to mudslides, and localized flooding. The best news out of this storm is that elevations over 7000′ are expected to pick up as much as 1-3′ of snow, adding to a paltry snowpack thus far. Check out the graphic from the San Diego NWS station for a look at the heavy rain fall totals expected (5-7″ in higher elevations near the coast with south facing slopes!).
Snow showers expected this evening and overnight as a disturbance moves across the area from the Ohio valley. Not much moisture associated with this storm system, so snow accumulation, if any, should be light and not exceed 2″. Still enough to make for some slippery roads Mon morning.
Pleasant though cold conditions prevail for the start of the week, with sunny skies Mon-Wed, but hi temps only hovering around 30. Overnight temps will dip into the teens in the city, so windchill will be a factor in the morning.
A low pressure system forming off the Gulf Coast is forecast to impact our area Wed night-Thu. Latest model runs have trended towards a colder temperature profile, and a storm track slightly farther offshore. This leads to higher confidence in an all snow event. With 72-84 hrs before the storm, this track could change, bringing in more of a rain/snow mix to coastal areas. Stay tuned.
