Springfield, Massachusetts

Anthony Dunkel Leave a comment

Only a fortnight left of shopping until Christmas! What will the weather be like in Springfield, MA as we head into the weekend to get those gifts?

At 1156pm EST, the temperature at Springfield, MA was 20 degrees under fair skies. High pressure is found over New England currently, but the next couple of days will see conditions deteriorate rapidly. An area of low pressure is developing in the Southeast and will scoot its way up the Eastern Seaboard throughout the day Friday. Rain showers will shift into the area by the evening hours, and increase in intensity overnight into Saturday as the low draws closer to the region. Some heavy rains are expected Saturday morning and should finally taper off some during the afternoon and early evening hours as the low shifts through New England. Winds are expected to pick up late Saturday as well, making for a rather miserable start to the weekend.

Friday: Increasing evening showers. High 40, Low 21.
Saturday: Heavy morning rains, becoming lighter in evening. High 52, Low 40.

TWC: Friday: Afternoon rain showers. High 39, Low 20.
Saturday: Rain. High 52, Low 37.

AW: Friday: A bit of afternoon rain. High 37, Low 21.
Saturday: Heavy rain tapering off. High 50, Low 35.

NWS: Friday: Mostly cloudy then chance of wintry mix. High 35, Low 20.
Saturday: Heavy rain, areas of fog. High 42, Low 35.

WB: Friday: Chance of rain showers. High 38, Low 20.
Saturday: Rain. High 53, Low 38.

WN: Friday: Cloudy with light showers likely. High 38, Low 20.
Saturday: Cloudy with light rain. High 50, Low 35.

FIO: Friday: Light rain starting in afternoon. High 43, Low 23.
Saturday: Rain until evening. High 56, Low 42.

Some high clouds are streaming over the area currently, but the system taking shape in the Southeast is what will bring our weekend rains.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Anthony Dunkel Leave a comment

Whoops! This was supposed to be posted on Monday evening. However, something from Real Life Inc. interfered and even though the data had already been gathered, I forgot to disperse it to our faithful readers! Apologies! I’ll understand if I get one fewer present under the tree.

At 951pm EST, the temperature at Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT) was 56 degrees with light rain falling. As a cold front is pushing through the region, a few straggling showers are expected over the area early Tuesday morning, but then conditions clear out by midday as high pressure works in behind the system. Wednesday should be dry, but much colder as high pressure shifts overhead.

Tuesday: A few morning showers. High 53, Low 27.
Wednesday: Clearing and colder. High 34, Low 21.

TWC: Tuesday: Cloudy, chance of morning showers. High 57, Low 31.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 34, Low 20.

AW: Tuesday: Cooler, a shower in the morning. High 54, Low 30.
Wednesday: Partly sunny and colder. High 35, Low 22.

NWS: Tuesday: Chance of morning rain showers. High 55, Low 30.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 32, Low 20.

WB: Tuesday: Chance of morning rain showers. High 55, Low 30.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 32, Low 24.

WN: Tuesday: A few morning showers. High 54, Low 29.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 33, Low 21.

FIO: Tuesday: Light rain in the morning. High 58, Low 30.
Wednesday: Clear throughout the day. High 33, Low 24.

Punta Gorda, Florida

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

We’re crossing the Sunshine State today, from the southeastern coast to the west coast. Of course, everyone calls it the Gulf Coast, but we’re not here for a geography lesson. (unless you are, and then I’m sorry for the confusion)

At 453PM, ET, Punta Gorda was reporting a temperature of 78 degrees with fair skies. Nearby spots, like Fort Myers were popping up into the low 80s as the region was encompassed by high pressure ahead of a cold front advancing through the southeastern US.
As the boundary moves closer to the coast, moisture will become entrained across the Florida Peninsula. The boundary itself won’t ever arrive in Punta Gorda, but the more aggressive breezes across the area, from southwest to northeast, will be conducive to a few isolated showers and storms. The activity will largely be in the middle of the state, but it’s never a bad idea to include thunderstorms in a Floridian forecast.
Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, warm, High 86, Low 63
Wednesday – Isolated thunderstorms, High 85, Low 65

TWC: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy skies. High 85, Low 62
Wednesday – Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 84, Low 66

AW: Tomorrow – Sunny to partly cloudy and pleasant High 81, Low 66
Wednesday – Partly sunny, very warm and more humid with a shower in places in the afternoon High 86, Low 61

NWS: Tomorrow – Partly sunny, High 80, Low 66
Wednesday – A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, High 80, Low 69

WB: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy High 84, Low 63
Wednesday – Partly cloudy. A slight chance of showers in the afternoon. High 83, Low 66

WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy High 82, Low 65
Wednesday – Partly cloudy with scattered showers, High 82, Low 68

FIO: Tomorrow – Clear throughout the day. High 84, Low 63
Wednesday – Partly cloudy throughout the day. High 83. Low 67

Here is a look at the forecast for the next few days from Fox 4 in Fort Myers, just down the road from Punta Gorda.

Surprisingly dry

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

I think a lot of people would look at the recent weather in Miami and would easily note the temperatures, which were cooler than one would stereotypically expect from Miami. The thing that struck me, however, was how low the dew points were. Residents accustomed to Miami’s climate probably needed to bust out the moisturizer as dew points dipped all the way into the low 40s. Accuweather had the best temperature forecast, and for our purposes, had the best forecast of the day.
Actuals: Tbursday, High 72, Low 59
Friday – High 78, Low 61

Grade: B-C

Miami, Florida to Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

It seems like these two towns should be nearer to one another, but in fact, it’s a day and a half drive between Miami, way at the south end of Florida, and Hattiesburg. To give you an idea of how big Florida is, our drive covers 817 miles in total, and probably 3/4ths of it are in the Sunshine State. We will do 2/3rds of the driving on day one, which will account for 542 miles at the Floridian pace of 67.8mph, It’s a long ways from Miami to any other state, so be patient.

DAY ONE (Saturday)

Miami, Florida

A long, dangling front extends from a low over Newfoundland. If that gives you any idea, by the time the front has reached north Florida, it is quite weak, and as we drive north, it may only bring a few clouds over Orlando. North and west from the Ocala and Gainesville area, however, we will probably note a change in the air. Somewhat cooler air is possible, but more significantly, it will feel drier than Miami. We’ll make it to Grand Ridge in the Panhandle to call our day complete.

DAY TWO (Sunday)
High pressure is developing over the East Coast this weekend, and guidance is suggesting that the return flow will be strongest in the Mobile area. There might be some light rain showers as a result, but more likely, it will just be some puffy cumulus clouds. Hattiesburg won’t have to deal with any of that, but the afternoon will be getting warmer and soupier after we arrive.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Not so bad

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

I am impressed. The forecast for Jackson was locked and loaded to be very difficult. A massive blob of uncomfortable low pressure moving through the Great Lakes was going to manipulate precipitation types and drive temperatures steadily downward… except for when there was an intrusion of warm air as the low passed by on Saturday. It was a recipe for a difficult forecast, and by jove, this forecast was knocked out of the park. Weatherbug, in fact, only had 1 degree of error in their entire forecast. the only real loser was the city of Jackson, who had to deal with the rain, thunderstorm and snow chaser.
Actuals: Sunday – .64 inches of rain, High 42, Low 34
Monday – Snow reported, not measured, High 34, Low 28

Grade: A – B

Miami, Florida

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

Miami isn’t the largest city in Florida, nor is it the capital, but it is probably the most famous (and surely has the largest metro area).

At 1053PM, Miami was reporting fair skies with a temperature of 66 degrees. The state of Florida was enjoying a pleasant evening across the board, as the subtropical jet lies safely over the Tennessee Valley.
High pressure is safely entrenched over the southeast, though a short wave is forecast to develop over the lower Mississippi Valley late in the week. Because of the weak rotation in the region, expect a little bit more moisture to be entrained across Florida by Friday afternoon. bringing in some clouds.
Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, fairly cool, High 75, Low 58
Friday – Partly cloudy, more humid, High 77, Low 63

TWC: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny skies. High 74, Low 55
Friday – Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 78, Low 58

AW: Tomorrow – Partly sunny and nice High 74, Low 57
Friday – Nice with sunshine and patchy cloud High 78, Low 63

NWS: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 73, Low 60
Friday – Mostly sunny, High 76, High 65

WB: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 73, Low 56
Friday – Mostly sunny, High 77, Low 59

WN: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 73, Low 60
Friday – Partly cloudy, High 76, Low 65

FIO: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 78, Low 62
Friday – Clear throughout the day. HIgh 80, Low 63

This is the kind of weather you want when you visit Florida, right? Not too hot, a lot of sun and absolutely not a flake of snow.

Jackson, Michigan

Ryan Henning 1 Comment

We sure are looking at an interesting forecast for the Great Lakes today. It’s a mystery even what type of precipitation will be falling in an hour.

At 1256AM, ET, Jackson was reporting a brisk 35mph easterly wind gust with overcast skies and a temperature of 37 ahead of a vast batch of heavy rain consuming most, if not all of western Michigan. A large area of occluded low pressure is centered over north central Iowa. The occluded boundary is ranging from there to Michigan. Jackson appears to northeast of the warm occlusion. Much of Michigan is in a winter weather warning or advisory, however Jackson is south of these alerts.
After the rain that will come this morning, a well defined dry tongue will move into Lower Michigan through the middle of the day on Sunday. The back end of this feature is becoming significantly less organized and unable to access the same level of moisture. Still, light snow showers will persist in the Jackson region into Monday afternoon, but a cool down is not likely to follow suit after becoming cut off from the deeply occluded circulation.
Tomorrow – early rain, becoming mixed and eventually predominately snow in the evening. High 37, Low 33
Monday – Light wet snow, High 33, Low 28

TWC: Tomorrow – Rain ending early. Remaining cloudy, High 43, Low 35
Monday – Overcast, early snow, HIgh 35, Low 28

AW: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers, perhaps mixed with snow late in the day High 43, Low 35
Monday – Low clouds and colder HIgh 35, Low 29

NWS: Tomorrow – Showers likely, mainly before 10am. (Late mix) HIgh 42, Low 35
Monday – Cloudy (Early mix becoming snow) HIgh 35, Low 27

WB: Tomorrow – Rain showers likely (late mix) High 43, Low 34
Monday – Cloudy (Early mix) High 34, Low 28

WN: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy with rain likely, High 42, Low 35
Monday – Mostly cloudy )Early mix), High 35, Low 31

FIO: Tomorrow – Rain throughout the day. High 42, Low 34
Monday – Overcast throughout the day. HIgh 35, Low 28

That was a difficult forecast. The precipitation in western Michigan has already started a transition to a mix, even as I was writing this forecast post, if that gives an idea of the uncertainty we will be dealing with.

Major storms ready to tie up holiday travel

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

2019 may go down as one of the worst Thanksgivings for travelling in a very long time. As I sit on the south side of the Twin Cities metro area, skies are already starting to turn gray as a vast area of low pressure and some accompanying snow fall makes it’s way to the north. The latest forecast from the Twin Cities WFO calls for a foot through the heart of the metro area.

Snow has been ongoing today, particularly in northern Colorado, eastern Wyoming and across Nebraska, where it has closed schools, covered roads and severely disrupted Denver’s airport.

Since this isn’t a storm in the heart of the winter, there is the cold, snowy side, but also a side with strong to severe thunderstorms. There has already been one tornado warning in southern Missouri today, with more strong storms anticipated, particularly in eastern Arkansas.

The storm is going to continue strengthening over the next 12-24 hours, reaching maximum intensity somewhere over northern Wisconsin, meaning the snow that has fallen in the Upper Midwest will be , and the snow in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula will be wind driven. Altogether an unpleasant scenario. And that’s not even the worst of it.

THERE IS ANOTHER STORM.

This second storm, thanks to travel across the north Pacific is in the process of explosive cyclogenesis – a bomb cyclone – and will slam into the northern California coast tonight. With it will come more gusty winds, rain and a whole lot of snow the interior west. While much of California will appreciate the rain, they could do without more wind, and the snow inland will be fairly comprehensive. That is to say, it’s not going to be confined solely to the mountains. Take a look at the watches and warnings presently plastered across the country.

All the oranges and browns are wind related alerts, thanks to the potency of the first system, while southern Arizona is also under threat for flooding, thanks to the moisture they’ve recently received, and will be reintroduced to this week.

Most of the time, foot of snow the day before Thanksgiving would be bad enough, but in the Midwest, they will also need to concern themselves with the weather after Thanksgiving. If folks somehow managed to leave the house and visit their relatives, they will then need to contend with a second round of snow that will likely start as light freezing rain, particularly from about Sioux Falls to Omaha.

In my back yard, we are probably looking at another 2-4″ of snow on top of a glaze of ice, and more gusty winds to conclude what will be a very long holiday weekend.