Thursday, January 07, 2010

Light Snow for Friday

MARK

Hi everyone, here’s what’s On My Radar tonight…a weak storm brings some light snow to the area Friday although we have seen MUCH worse this winter! Look for a period of flurries and occasional steady light snow showers Friday with minor accumulations of a coating to as much as 2” in some isolated communities.

One thing to watch for with this storm is the POTENTIAL for a bit of enhancement of the snowfall once the storm reaches the open water to our south. This map shows a computer model progression of the storm’s “500mb” low pressure track. We watch this track for the movement of energy in the atmosphere. As you can see the dark red colors track directly over our area indicating some rather robust energy in the air above us Friday morning.

We will need to keep a close eye on our VIPIR radar Friday morning for the chance that this energy fuels an area of somewhat heavier snow along our coastline. Again, this is simply a POTENTIAL and the likelihood is that most of our area will simply see the period of light snow and flurries that is currently in my forecast. Now, moving forward, this storm will really gain strength to our east Friday night and Saturday and it will pull another shot of frigid, dry air down across southern New England.

This next map shows that there is hope if you don’t like the prospect of another 10 days or so of cold, dry weather. Temperatures are expected to slowly climb back to above average levels during the January 15-21 time period as the jet stream becomes less amplified meaning fewer troughs and ridges and more of a west to east type of flow. Take a look:

So hang in there if this winter is bumming you out. Signs, at least in the next couple of weeks, are pointing toward a slow climb out of the freezer!
Thanks for reading!

MARK