Friday, October 28, 2011

It's too early for THIS!

Forecasters still expect rain to develop tonight, and for Saturday to dawn with cold, rainy conditions before the sun returns at midday.

But no matter how bad our weather seems tonight and Saturday morning, we're catching a break.

The low pressure system forecast to form off the Carolinas and move up the East Coast is predicted to bring heavy snow -- yes, heavy snow -- to parts of the Mid Atlantic and Northeast.

It's only Oct. 28, for crying out loud! It's too early for this.

Sure, the record books show a number of late-October storms along the East Coast, but it's been several decades since anything like this happened.

Several cities in a path from northern Virginia to New England are forecast to get between 6 and 10 inches of snow, and an inch or two is expected to accumulate on grassy areas even in major cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Places in line for the really heavy snow include Frederick, Md.; Scranton, Pa.; and Hartford. This will be a heavy wet snow, accompanied by strong winds. In fact, a high wind watch is posted for Boston, where gust of 50 to 60 mph are possible Sunday. So the combination of wet snow and high winds will create a threat of downed trees and widespread power outages.

Like I said ... we're getting off easy this time.

The big picture responsible for this storm is the same old story ... a trough over the eastern United States. That trough is the reason why tropical storms were steered away from the U.S. mainland this summer, and it was a big player in our weather during the first two months last winter.

The trough creates a steering current that brings cold air into the East, and storms tend to form on the edge of the trough path, along the coast.

It ought to be interesting to check out the field conditions Saturday for a couple of college football games, like Fordham-Army, where a foot of snow is expected; and West Virginia-Rutgers, where it will be rain, but with 35 mph winds.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

"It's only Oct. 28, for crying out loud! It's too early for this."

No, it really isn't. It's time to begin cooling down. Late fall and winter are when the earth renews itself and recovers from the stress of the hot summer. Not to mention that it kills all those pesky mosquitoes that make going outside in the summer such an ordeal.

Rain or shine, the air feels cleaner and more crisp in fall and winter.

Learn to accept and enjoy it for what it is. The winters seem to get shorter and shorter around here now, compared to years ago.

Maybe we'll even have another snow on Christmas!

Anonymous said...

In reply to post on Oct. 28 @7:14pm:

Yes, I (and hopefully the rest of ya'll) am ready for another White Christmas this year. However, that would depend largely on how the weather patten plays out throughout this winter. They are forecasting for another La Nina winter.

Freddy said...

Cue the "OMG, a winter storm like this must mean the entire mountain of data supporting man-made global warming should be ignored because it's clearly a liberal myth designed to destroy capitalism!" crowd...

Who wants to be first?

Anonymous said...

Well Freddy, it seems you are the first (and only) one to bring up global warming.

Anonymous said...

It's fall. Cold weather happens. Good grief...what a non story. Next will be a headline about it gets dark at night

LM9259 said...

I have been telling my friends and family it was going to be a cold winter because of the extreme (hot) summer we had. So far I am hitting the nail on the head. If winter is anything like summer was I suggest we be prepared!

LM9259 said...

I have been telling my friends and family it was going to be a cold winter because of the extreme (hot) summer we had. So far I am hitting the nail on the head. If winter is anything like summer was I suggest we be prepared!

Anonymous said...

We always have freezing weather by november 12, so whats the hubbub,bub?

Eddie said...

If you listen to Al Gore and the rest of the environmentalist whackos, global warming is heating the world up to dangerous levels. However as you can see from storms like this this time of year, they are wrong. Don't buy their stuff or otherwise give them money...the Earth is fine.

Anonymous said...

I love when someone uses data from a single point to prove or disprove a theory, regardless of what the theory is. *faceplam*

Fred Flintstone said...

Eddie wins the boobie prize for being the first global warming skeptic to pop out of the woodwork today! You go Eddie!

Oh, by the way, the earth will ALWAYS be fine (at least until the sun flames out and becomes a red giant, thereby incinerating the inner planets) - it's people and other living critters that are in danger of having their habitats wrecked or driven to early extinction by catastrophic climate change. Just so you know. You seem like a guy who really values scientific research.

Anonymous said...

Eddie's one of those folks who are just as whacko as he thinks the environmentalists are. People who are in denial about climate change are the same people who think they'll fall off the edge of the planet if they get too far from home.

ajlounyinjurylaw said...

Isn't it amazing how quickly the weather has changed. Summer seemed so short. Be careful out there all.

Anonymous said...

been freezing the last few mornings. what happened to global warming... darn politicians and the lies.

Tyler said...

got to love the snow tho but the worlds coming to a change.