Most of the weather blogs through the last few months have featured many mentions of the word "mild." It certainly has been… mild, that is. But then again, it’s hard to forget the mess of snow some locations received last weekend. It was EERIE how similar last weekend felt to the same weekend of last year:
After a mild, almost snow-less winter and then…
* (2015) January 24th, BOS picked up 5.1" of snow VS. (2016) January 23rd, BOS picked up 6.1" of snow (UH-OH… are we in trouble?)
* (2015) Snow blitz started, and continued into March VS. (2016) A mid-winter "thaw" where we saw last week’s snow melt this week
* (2015) Temps didn’t get above 40° until March 4th VS. (2016) Temps into the 50s to kick off the month of February
So, if you started to worry after last weekend about getting slammed with snow – stop worrying. It ain’t gonna happen… at least, not this week! For this afternoon, clouds move in and temps will top out near 40° for most. The breeze out of the west this morning will eventually shift to come out of the SW, and that starts our temp trend moving onward and upward. Tomorrow, highs top out near 50° – and Monday, in the mid 50s! Let me just say, February 1st won’t feel like the beginning of February at all. In fact, one more comparison for you:
* (2015) February 2nd, BOS picked up 16.2" of snow VS (2016) Dry, lots of sunshine – temps in the mid 40s.
However, that leads me to that groundhog. Tuesday is Groundhog Day, when we celebrate the forecasting skills of Ms. G (the Mass. State Groundhog, obviously). :c) Ms. G will likely see her shadow (my prediction), with all of that sun expected on Tuesday. This means that she’ll likely go back into hibernation, indicating a forecast of "6 more weeks of winter." If events unfold in this manner (is this a forecaster’s forecast of an upcoming forecast?), Ms. G could be onto something. These mild temperatures don’t stay with us throughout the month of February. The cold is not far off, and it will be back to more seasonable weather come Friday… and colder for the rest of February. Hey, it is still winter.
BEFORE we get to Friday – We need to talk about a wet Wednesday. Obviously, with temps in the mid to upper 50s, we’re talking about rain – NOT snow. Rain works in late in the day Wednesday, as well as windy conditions. This could amount to 0.5" to 1.00" of rain for most. This system bringing rain on Wednesday will also be followed by a cold front – which will bring us back to "normal" by Friday. This front looks like it will stall out just off the coast, and depending on where that sets up, this could set the stage for a coastal storm to impact us on Friday. We’re watching this, and as always, track is everything. So, let’s say it all together (because you know what’s coming), "Stay tuned." Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that before. ;c) We will keep you posted as details become clearer.