Not a bad way to kick off a weekend, as we started with plenty of sunshine this morning. Highs made it into the 50s for most, and even up to 60° for a few (Providence and Plymouth on that list). That was before the clouds moved in and some showers started to skirt across the South Coast during the afternoon. Those showers have ended, but we’re in for another round of wet weather tomorrow – and this round will start with a wintry mix.
Even though our temps are still fairly mild (40s) as I type this blog, colder air will be draining in from the north overnight. This will put most locations right around the freezing mark by the time the precip moves in tomorrow morning. I don’t think we’ll see much SNOW out of this – but rather, sleet. Either way, it does lead to the potential for slick travel.
By the way – last year I was berated on the internet for explaining the difference between freezing rain and sleet… so I’ve since decided to spare those details while on air. However, it’s still pretty common to get the two confused… and I guess that’s what a weather blog is for! So, here’s the breakdown:
Sleet is “frozen rain” but freezing rain is rain that freezes upon contact with a frozen surface. Tomorrow our set up has that “warm nose” of air upstairs which will melt the snowflake, turn it into a raindrop, then refreeze into sleet pellets before reaching the surface. That’s why I say – I don’t think we’ll get a lot of SNOW, unless it’s wet/slushy snow. Either way though, there’s the potential for slick travel during the first part of the day tomorrow:
By early afternoon, it’s changed over to a chilly rain – and with a breeze coming in off of the ocean, it will be a raw day:
Here’s the thinking for snow/sleet accumulation:
That’s why the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory. It’s a “heads up” for the potential for slick travel tomorrow through 1pm:
The first half of next week really looks FANTASTIC, #IMHO. As high pressure takes over, the sunshine is back and temps will be about 10 to 15 degrees above normal Monday through Wednesday. I even have a sneaking suspicion that we may need to put the words “seabreeze” or “cooler coast” in the forecast for Wednesday… that’s certainly a sign of spring!
But then… there’s this (see pic below)… and the Twitter storm has already begun. There is the potential for a strong coastal storm to develop for the end of next week. Timeline for this system is looking like late Thursday into the weekend – and a blocking pattern is setting up, which means that this storm may not go anywhere anytime quickly. Track is still to be determined… precip type is also still TBD, exact timeline still needs to be nailed down… etc. One major concern with this system though is that tides will be astronomically high – and a persistent onshore wind could make for coastal concerns. So you see – we do see something could be brewing down the pipeline – and while there aren’t a lot of details at this point, it’s my job to give you a heads up as early as possible. HOWEVER, as a friendly tweeter/tweeple/twit directed at me today: “Here we go again. Getting everyone all worked up” … to this twit I say, I’m just doing my job. I’m keeping you posted on the forecast – and I will continue to do so as we get closer to the end of next week. As we always say in this business, “Stay tuned.” – Breezy
