I mentioned last night that once we fell below freezing, we wouldn’t recover for the foreseeable future. Today’s highs were in the 20s for most – about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year – and the wind added insult to injury, making it feel like it was in the teens for much of the day, despite ample sunshine. Tomorrow is even colder, and blustery again. Highs will range 15-23°… and it gets even colder for Thursday. In fact, it’s very possible that we set new records for “coldest max temp” on Thursday:
I did some looking back on the books and couldn’t find a day last winter when Boston had a high temp in the teens. In order to get to numbers that cold, like we’re expecting on Thursday, we have to take it all the way back to Valentine’s Day of 2016:
Not to mention, the wind chill factor will certainly be a BIG FACTOR. When we wake up on Thursday morning, wind chill values could be as low as -20 to -25° for some. That’s dangerous cold, and it’s very possible that the National Weather Service issues a Wind Chill Advisory for this time-frame (nothing has been issued yet, but we will keep you posted).
So why is it that the wind adds so much insult to injury? Here’s a really great infographic from the NWS:
[1210pm] Make sure you understand the importance of layers when wind chill becomes a factor. Read up on the Science of Wind Chill! pic.twitter.com/9Ogrvu9U7q
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) December 26, 2017
For those of you that LOVE the cold weather – this is your moment!! Well, really more than a moment, as it looks like the “cold will hold” through the end of 2017 and into 2018. For those of you who plan on going into hibernation and you’re looking for an “end date” to the cold… It’s possible we get some relief from these frigid temperatures after the first week of January. We have a ways to go. Meantime, the backyard ice rinks will set up nicely! Game on! – Breezy
Oh boy… almost forgot to mention the possible snow we’re tracking for this weekend. That’s an important detail of the forecast! For now it looks like the coastal low will be offshore enough that this wouldn’t be significant snow accumulation for us – but it’s very possible that we’re still able to tap into SOME snow showers late Saturday into early Sunday morning. If the low tracks closer to home though, it would mean more snow – and farther away, less snow. If I had to put out a snow map tonight (but I don’t have to because we’re still a few days away), it looks like a couple/few inches of snow is in store. That’s the way the models look NOW – but of course, we need to keep an eye on it, and you can bet that we will.