This event is so unlike the snow events we really got used to seeing last winter.  Last winter, we had COLD air in place that would NOT budge and therefore we ended up with inches and feet of snow (that really never melted… at least not until July).  This first bout with winter for this season is a completely different set up, which is making for a messy mix of winter precipitation.

The brunt of the storm system moves by to our west, and drags a warm front through our neighborhood.  Yes, you read that right:  Warm front.  So why are we getting this messy mix rather than rain?  Well, the cold air moved in yesterday – and sometimes it’s hard to move it OUT.  The warm front is spreading warm air in, but it’s upstairs in the atmosphere… so we’re not feeling that warm air down here with our feet on the ground.  It’s almost like a backwards ice-cream sandwich:  The ice cream is on the outside, and the warm cookie is on the inside (see graphic below).  So from the top down, you see snowflakes that melt in the warm layer and either refreeze on their way to the surface (sleet) or freeze upon contact with a frozen surface (freezing rain).  We’ve got it all this morning… and even a touch of a breeze in some spots, making the sleet more like a microdermabrasion treatment.  #ouch

Also, sleet and freezing rain are two different things.  Sleet is literally "frozen raindrops," the type that ping when they hit your car or windows.  Meantime, freezing rain is rain (super-cooled water droplets) until it freezes upon contact with a frozen surface.

That breeze coming off of the 47° ocean water is turning our sleet into just plain rain earliest for the coastline.  We wait until between 9-10am for the rest of us inside of 495 to see a changeover.  It will take a bit longer for Worcester County to see the changeover, and north of Route 2 where that cold air really wants to stay put.  Past Noon though, it should be just a wet, sloppy mess for us… but probably still a bit of a slow go for the evening commute (just less slick).  Some areas of drizzle and freezing drizzle will last into the evening hours before we dry out.

REMEMBER:  Don’t freak out (it’s like riding a bike!) – and don’t be mean to others ("bother me when it’s 2 feet in the forecast").  Just take it easy today, and remember that this is the first winter event of the season.  It’s like a blind date… You don’t really know what you’re going to end up with, so it can be a little awkward at first.  There’s likely more winter weather to come… Just no snow yet.  Things look quiet for the next 7 to 10 days, but it also looks COLD.  This December will become the warmest on record, as we close the books on 2015 Thursday… and January is off and running with a whole lot of BRRRR.  Bundle up.  – Breezy

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