January 31, 2001
Fairly quiet in the short term, more active in the longterm. That is the headline tonight as our area dries out from around .5" of rain early Tuesday. A few rumbles of thunder were heard and winds gusted to around 25mph as the front swung through around noon. Many folks have claimed that the weather pattern we are heading into is "dull" and cries of "winter is over" flood my email. However, I beg to differ. The evolving weather pattern over the continental US will be anything but quiet beginning Friday, as a series of potent disturbances start to make their way Eastward out of the Northwest and Arctic air gets poised to make a return.
The remainder of the night will be partly cloudy with lows in the mid to upper 30s. Wednesday will be partly sunny with the chance for a shower in the afternoon in association with a disturbance sliding across New York State. Continued mild with highs around 50. Thursday will be mostly sunny with highs in the low to mid 40s. Friday will start off mostly sunny, but clouds will be on the increase during the day as a clipper system approaches from the NW and tries to combine with a wave off the coast. Chance of a snow shower or flurry in the afternoon and during the evening. Highs in the upper 30s. Things clear out Saturday, but it will be noticeably colder and breezy under mostly sunny skies.
Highs in the low to mid 30s. Sunday will be partly sunny with highs around 40.
Things get interesting into early next week. As it stands now, energy in the Southwest will begin to advance Eastward during the day on Saturday. Meanwhile, a potent area of upper level energy is digging into the Plains. Guidance is beginning to catch on to the idea that some sort of phase will occur between Sunday-Monday, whether with the two aforementioned vortmaxes or a new vort positioned to dive into the Plains on Monday. Tough to say which shortwave will be the one to focus on at this time, but will say the odds of a storm in the Eastern US during the Sunday-Tuesday timeframe are increasing. Is the potential there for a decent snowstorm for parts of the Mid Atlantic and/or parts of the Northeast? Yes, there is decent *potential* among guidance for snow in some areas, but the potential is just as great for rain in the major cities. Behind that, looks like a fairly deep trough in the East with colder air paying us a visit and more energy headed for the Plains during the middle of the week. More on the potential early week system tomorrow.
So, in a nutshell, things starting to get active once again especially past Friday. Wednesday will be partly sunny with a shower ot two possible during the day. Thursday looks mostly sunny and seasonable. Flurries and/or snow showers possible late Friday and early Saturday morning. Things clear out on Saturday but turn colder with highs in the low to mid 30s. Sunday will be partly sunny with highs around 40. Potential storm in the cards for early next week. More later.
