Sunny & Mild...Before The Clouds/Rain
What a day out there! After a frosty start in many areas of central and northern New England temps are starting to rise. This morning Mount Washington 6,288 ft in elevation was the warmest spot in Northern New England at 41 degrees, while many were starting with temps in the 20's! The Worcester airport had a low of 47 degrees with Norwood down to 25 degrees at dawn this morning. What an awesome inversion! An inversion is simply an increase of temperature with height. It is also a sign of stability in the atmosphere...as the warm air aloft slows the air from rising any further up to form clouds. You will notice very little cloud development today thanks to this stable environment and lack of any available moisture.
With the warmer air aloft and temps now warming at the surface, after a frosty start, I expect temps to quickly warm into the 50's and then into the 60's inland today. Normal high is 53. We will be close to 10 degrees above normal today. An upper level ridge is in place over the entire eastern seaboard which is providing stellar fall weather to start the weekend. Meanwhile there is a storm center plowing through the northern Plains and Great Lakes which is providing a mix of rain and heavy snow to the Twin Cities in Minneapolis.
A cold front draped across the Canadian border will push off our coast tonight with a cooler airmass to follow in for Sunday. The front will push away the warmth and bring in a more seasonal airmass for this time of year. Expect low clouds to back in off the water tomorrow with NE winds. Temps will be much cooler in the 40's and Lwr 50's with mostly cloudy skies developing.
A cold front will approach Monday which may trigger a brief shower or sprinkle through Monday Night. SW upper level winds will continue to direct warmer air aloft which will be overriding a cooler east winds at the surface helping to keep a deck of clouds in place. The SW flow aloft will stall the front over New England with a wave of low pressure which will track through New England for a period of rain Tuesday Night and Wednesday morning.
Behind this disturbance we will begin to track the first outbreak of cold air into the US this early season. The cold charge will help to push a wave of energy from Canada south of the Lakes to just south of New England. This will be in the form a clipper-like storm which will likely start off wet Thursday in the form of showers, but a turn to snow is possible on the back side of this low with the cold air being drawn in. The best chance of snow Thursday afternoon will remain the higher elevations...but a wintry mix all the way to the coast is possible with this Thursday Clipper which will need to be watched....Plenty of cool to follow in the wake of this low with air being discharged out of Canada with highs mostly in the Lwr -mid 40's to end the week. Enjoy the warmth while it's out there!
