Storm Likely Middle Of Next Week
BOSTON (CBS) - Just as the last of the power is being restored from Sandy, we are now tracking yet another potential coastal storm for New England.
Let me preface this blog with the following comment… IT IS STILL WAY TOO EARLY!
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The storm potential is not until the middle of next week, sometime Wednesday or Thursday.
That is nearly an eternity in the world of meteorology.
In fact, the energy for this system is now somewhere up in Alaska, it has a long way to travel and there is a lot that can happen in the atmosphere in 6-to-7 days.
Having said all that, there is likely to be some sort of storm off our coastline by the middle of next week. How close it comes and what its track and strength will be remains to be seen.
It will make its way through western Canada this weekend and dive into the upper Midwest early next week. It will dive all the way down to the northern Gulf of Mexico, scoop up some moisture and head north up the coast.
Right now, there are a number of solutions, as is expected this far out, as to where this storm will travel.
But, needless to say, it could provide another round of strong wind and heavy rain for locations that already have taken one on the chin from Sandy.
Of course, the storm surge and wind gusts would not be nearly as significant as with Sandy, but there is a risk for some coastal flooding, additional wind damage and inland flooding from heavy rains.
It is obviously worth watching, particularly for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
As with many nor'easters, they become strongest when they reach our waters, thanks to the energy provided from the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream off the East Coast.
And our jet stream is in a very active pattern. Large "troughs" or dips in the jet stream are common this time of year and combine that with the continued blocking in the northern Atlantic and you get the potential for big East Coast storms.
One more rumor you may have heard floating around with this storm - the "s" word… snow.
There will be some pretty cold air not too far away next week, cold enough to support snow given the right track and intensity.
The best chance of snow with this storm would clearly lie in northern and central New England in elevated areas.
There could be some snow as close by as the elevated locations of southwest New Hampshire and the Berkshires, but again it is simply way too early to be any more specific than that.
As always, we urge you to keep informed with updated forecasts through this weekend and early next week.
You can follow Terry on Twitter at @TerryWBZ.
