Tag Archives: cold

NYC Weekend Weather – Feb 11, 2016

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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.

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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.

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NYC Weather Update – Apr 7, 2015

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This will be my last post for another few weeks as I will be traveling in South America. This week, we have an active weather pattern that will lead to a series of periods of rain. Mid-week, temperatures will be well below normal (mid-40s), but towards the end of the week, through the weekend, and to begin next week, temperatures will rebound to slightly above normal (low 60s).

Today – we’ve already had a round of light to moderate rain pass through earlier this morning. The rest of the day will feature temperatures falling through the 50s, along with overcast skies and a light onshore flow. A second round of rain looks set to hit the area around the evening rush hour today.

High Resolution Rapid Refresh model output for 5PM today.
High Resolution Rapid Refresh model output for 5PM today.

Wednesday – a raw, rainy, and cold day is in store tomorrow. A stationary front (the reason for the extended period of unsettled weather) will push through late Tuesday as a cold front. This will allow for much colder air from Canada to enter the area, which will lead to temperatures only in the mid-40s (10-15º below normal). Periods of rain are likely throughout the day and into the night.gfs_namer_021_1000_850_thickThursday – essentially a repeat of Wednesday, with chances for rain through out the day, and cold, cloudy conditions otherwise. High temperatures again only in the mid-40s.

Friday – chances for rain continue through Friday as a warm front will be approaching from the south. Once this front pushes through, we’ll see a return to milder temperatures with highs in the low 60s (about 5-8º above normal).

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The Weekend – conditions finally begin to improve on Saturday with a cold front having pushed through. Chance for precipitation dwindles, with highs in the low 60s. Sunday is even better with clear skies and warm temperatures near 60.

Warm Trend for Next Week

Climate Prediction Center has our region in an area of greater than 50% chance of above average temperatures for next week. This should translate to pleasant, spring like conditions for next week!

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NYC Weather Update – Mar 5, 2015

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Today may be the last major winter storm of the winter for us. It certainly has been an eventful and cold winter for the books. We’ll end the week and start off this weekend and early next week with below normal temperatures, but temperatures will rise steadily throughout next week, such that we should be back to normal temperatures in the mid-upper 40s by the end of next week.

Rest of today – snow is already tapering off over the area, with widespread snowfall totals of between 4-8″ reported (largely in line with forecasts). Any remaining precipitation should completely clear the area within the next couple of hours. Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 4.58.33 PM

Friday – we endure what we all hope will be the last day of temperatures in the low-mid 20s as cold, dry air filters in behind this storm system.

Saturday – high pressure moves in over the weekend, with temperatures Saturday edging up to around freezing.

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Sunday – fair weather continues, but perhaps with more clouds on Sunday as some weak impulses of energy move over areas well to the north of NYC. High temperatures will increase to the low 40s.

Monday – the warming trend continues as spring approaches, high temperatures continue to warm into the mid-40s under partly cloudy skies.

Finally leaving the Arctic air behind?

A large scale warming trend is forecast to take hold over much of the US during the medium term. Temperatures next week should warm progressively such that by next Friday, we’ll be looking at (gasp) high temperatures near 50. The week after, on the cusp of spring, almost the entirety of the Continental US is forecast to experience warmer than normal temperatures, with the exception of Texas, and New York into Southern New England. However, we are forecast to be in normal range of temperatures for this time of year, which means mid-upper 40s. Not quite flip flops and t-shirt weather, but a positive trend nonetheless.

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NYC Weekend Weather – Feb 26, 2015

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Another cold weekend is on tap for the area, before the start of a week of active weather. It does appear that March will be coming in like a lion this year.

Rest of today – some sun, with a chance for light flurries and a high in the mid-20s.

Friday – diminishing clouds with a high temperature again in the mid-20s. High pressure begins building to our west, yielding northwesterly winds that will allow chilly, Arctic air to filter back into the area. Overnight lows Friday will be in the low teens.

Saturday – with high pressure to our west still firmly in control, it will be a sunny, but cold day, with highs again only in the mid-20s.

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Sunday – clouds will be increasing ahead of an approaching storm system and as high pressure exits to the east. There will be a slight warmup ahead of the storm, with temperatures topping out near freezing. Snow likely overnight, although significant accumulations are not expected.

Monday – temperatures will warm potentially into the low 40s on Monday as warm air from the southwest gets pulled into the storm system. There may be some mixed precipitation along the coastal plain, with all snow elsewhere, mostly early in the day.9khwbg_conusTuesday – following the passage of the storm on Monday, temperatures dip back to around freezing, ahead of another storm system that will be impacting the area Tuesday into Wednesday. This storm has a greater potential significant precipitation.

NYC Weather Update – Feb 24, 2015

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After that brief “warmup” during the weekend, we’re once again mired in Arctic cold air. This cold trend continues with a reinforcing shot of cold air as a cold front sweeps through Wednesday. Behind that, high pressure builds in over the area for the end of the week and into the weekend, ensuring another prolonged stretch of chilly, much below normal temperatures.

Wednesday – ahead of what will a dry cold front passing through, high temperatures may be able to climb to just about the freezing mark under mostly sunny skies.

Thursday – once the cold front moves offshore, an area of low pressure will strengthen, but remain well offshore of the area. However, precipitation may still make its way over the region, especially the far eastern areas. There’ll be a chance for snow flurries further west in the city. Temperatures will be back in the mid-20s again in the wake of that cold front.gfs_namer_060_1000_850_thick

Friday – clearing skies will be accompanied by stagnant cold temperatures with highs again in the mid-20s.

Saturday – as you’ll se below, a strong 1040mb area of high pressure will be parked over the Ohio Valley will be responsible for the sunny, but cold temperatures through at least Saturday night. Highs Saturday may approach 30ºF. Normal highs for this time of the year are closer to 40ºF.gfs_namer_093_1000_850_thickLooking Ahead

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Climate Prediction Center’s 8-14 day temperature outlook for March 4th to March 10th, with our region in an area expected to experience below normal temperatures.

The beginning of next week looks to feature a fairly active pattern, with two storm systems passing through, one on Monday, and another on Wednesday. With the current track of the second storm, it looks like we are going to be on the south side of the low pressure center. This would allow for warmer air to wrap into the area. We could top 40ºF again, but the tradeoff will be a slushy, wet day maybe with some mixed precipitation to start. Once this second storm passes through, we return to cold temperatures once again.

 

NYC Weather Update – Feb 16, 2015

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Sunday night’s lows were the coldest of the year thus far, indicative of the coldest airmass to hit the area in recent memory. Again, according to climatology, the last time New York City itself hit a low of zero was in January 1994. Unfortunately, the cold snap does not show any signs of abating during the week, although the first half of the week will see daytime high temperatures in the mid-upper 20s as opposed to the teens. We’ll finish the week off back into the teens before a warmup to above freezing with an approaching storm system this weekend. Behind that – you guessed it, another round of arctic air and abnormally cold temperatures.

Rest of today – cold and overcast, with high temperatures not even getting to 20 in the city. Snow should begin falling overnight, with generally light accumulations by daybreak.

Tuesday – slightly warmer with high temperatures in the mid 20s, but also with a chance for snow as a storm system now dumping snow across a vast swath of the South passes well to the south of us. We could still end up picking up 2-5″ of snow in the city, with higher amounts along the south facing shores of Long Island and minimal accumulation north of I-84.

Snowfall total forecast for Tuesday
Snowfall total forecast for Tuesday

Wednesday – a weak cold front will pass through Wednesday, and may give us a small chance for light snow, otherwise, expecting cloudy skies with high temperatures in the mid-upper 20s.

Thursday – behind that cold front, we get our next shot of Arctic air, with overnight lows into Thursday struggling to hit 10 in the city, and zero and below in outlying inland areas. Daytime highs will only be in the mid-teens despite ample sun. Thursday night, we might get another shot at low temperatures hitting zero in the city, with lows below zero across most inland locations.

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Friday – basically a repeat of Thursday, sunny but with brutally cold temperatures in the mid-teens.

Over the weekend – watching for the development of a storm system that could bring some wintry mix/freezing rain to the area, but finally give us a break from below freezing temperatures.

More Cold on Tap to End February

After the weekend storm, we get yet another reinforcing blast of Arctic air to end the month of February. Below, you’ll see the Climate Prediction Center‘s 8-14 day outlook spanning February 23 – March 1. We’re in a region with a greater than 60% probability of experiencing below average temperatures for this period.

Climate Prediction Center 8-14 day outlook for Feb 23 - Mar 1
Climate Prediction Center 8-14 day outlook for Feb 23 – Mar 1

NYC Weekend Weather – Feb 12, 2015

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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.

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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.

NYC Weather Update – Feb 8, 2015

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Another messy start to the work week is in store for us tonight and into Monday night as we endure a long duration, though relatively light intensity winter storm. Luckily for us, the storm track means we’ll avoid the worst impacts of heavy snow (New England will get the worst of it again). There’s some concern for icing again, although the impact should be slightly less serious than last Monday. The rest of the week will be precipitation free, with the exception of some snow showers possible Thursday. Following these snow showers, another shot of brutally cold Arctic air is expected by week’s end, such that highs will only be in the low 20s and even upper teens.

Monday – as you can see from below, the snowfall totals for the southern portion of the NYC area are on the very low end, only 1-2″ expected in NYC and in Long Island. The higher snowfall totals will be north of I-84 and into Connecticut, with the far northern suburbs getting a chance at over 6″. Bear in mind, the snow is expected over an extended period starting tonight through Monday night.

Storm total snow forecast
Storm total snow forecast

Ice is a bigger concern for the immediate coastal areas that will see less snow. High temperatures during the day Monday be below freezing, so freezing rain is expected and could deposit between 0.15″-0.25″ of ice when all is said and done. The majority of this is expected to fall Monday morning before temperatures cool off at the coast and precipitation switches back to all snow.

Storm total ice forecast
Storm total ice forecast

Tuesday – high temperatures should be right around freezing with clouds diminishing through the day as the storm system from Monday pulls to the east.

Wednesday – a sunny day expected with highs again near freezing.

Thursday – we get our next chance at snow, on the light side, with a passing low pressure system forming over the Great Lakes and moving east towards us high temperatures will be again around freezing.

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Friday –  a sunny, but frigid day with highs expected to only be in the upper teens and low 20s. As you can see from the chart above, to the west of the low affecting our area on Thursday, there is an area of high pressure which will usher in that reinforcing blast of Arctic air.

NYC Weather Update – Feb 3, 2015

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The low overall snowfall totals for NYC yesterday wasn’t so much a problem as the significant icing that resulted from an extended period of freezing rain. Ironically, a week the city government took criticism for shutting down the transit system for blockbuster blizzard that did not come to pass here, it was 1/4″ coating of ice that wreaked havoc on the entire transit system (the hours long complete suspension of the 7 train was an extreme example of this). We do get a couple more shots at snow, once tomorrow night into Thursday, and then again during the weekend, but at this time neither event looks to be nearly as high impact as what we’ve experienced the last two weeks.

Wednesday – will be comparatively mild in the context of the rest of the week and the weather we’ve had recently. High temperatures may actually even hit 40 (slightly above normal). However, as a cold front approaches from the west, we’ll have an increasing chance for snow showers, which maybe mixed with rain at the coast during the earlier part of the evening.

Thursday – chance for snow showers continues along the vicinity of the frontal boundary as it passes over us. Following the passage of that cold front, temperatures take a serious drop as northwest winds allow for Arctic air to make a comeback into the area. Lows overnight Thursday could be as low as the single digits for the city and below zero for outlying suburbs. Coupled with a northwest wind of 15-20mph, this would produce dangerously cold wind chill values.

Generally low snowfall totals expected across the region from this event
Generally low snowfall totals expected across the region from this event

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Friday – high pressure builds in briefly for Friday, giving us the only guaranteed dry day through the forecast period. It will still be cold with highs only in the low 20s.

Saturday – an arctic front will be approaching during the day Saturday, and ahead of the front, we’ll actually about normal temperatures in the upper 30s due to southwest flow. Clouds build in and the chance for snow showers builds during the later part of the day into the overnight.

Sunday – the arctic front mentioned above moves over us but then it looks like it will stall in our vicinity for an extended period from Sunday into Monday. High temperatures will cool to around freezing in the wake of that frontal passage.

At this time, it’s too early to know exactly how much snow we would pick up. It does appear that the precipitation with this system will be generally on the lighter side, except as the low pressure center depicted over southern Illinois in the graphic below approaches the coast. Once it arrives just west of the coast, it could draw in some moisture off the ocean as the counterclockwise cyclonic flow around the eastern periphery of the low induces an extended period of onshore flow (like a sea breeze, except in this case, the air over the water is actually warmer than it is over the snowpack on the land). If this onshore flow is robust enough, it could warm coastal areas up enough to get some rain out of the storm.

Stationary arctic front
Stationary arctic front
You can see the distinct separation between warm and cold airmasses demarcated by the stationary front depicted in the image above - the front separates the areas with the blue dotted lines from the areas of the warm dotted lines.
You can see the distinct separation between warm and cold airmasses demarcated by the stationary front depicted in the image above – the front separates the areas with the blue dotted lines from the areas of the warm dotted lines.

NYC Weather Update – Jan 28, 2015

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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.
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. gfs_namer_075_1000_850_thick

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).