John Homenuk

Clearing out late Sunday, cooler to start the week

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Showers, clouds, and dreary conditions were widespread on Sunday morning as a cold front and associated moisture slowly made its way through the forecast area. The moisture and atmospheric forcing for precipitation will shift east of the area by early this afternoon, and as it does so, drier air will begin to filter into the area. This will help skies clear out during the afternoon hours. Mid level atmospheric temperatures will also still remain “warm”, with the coldest air lagging behind the cold fronts precipitation from this morning. So high temperatures on Sunday afternoon may actually be quite pleasant.

Colder air will begin to filter in to the area by Sunday Night into Monday morning, as mid and upper level atmospheric temperatures drop as well. With northerly winds taking over on Monday, high temperatures will struggle into the middle 50’s during the afternoon hours. It will feel quite brisk compared to the past few days, even with abundant sunshine expected. While the cooler temperatures are expected to continue through the early part of the work week, some moderation in temperatures is expected by Tuesday and Wednesday.

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John Homenuk

A few showers tonight, cooler weather will follow

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High clouds are streaming into the area this afternoon ahead of a low pressure system, which is located well to the west-northwest of our area. The associated cold front, however, will sweep through the Northeast States later tonight into early Sunday. After a generally pleasant Saturday, a period of unsettled weather is likely from Saturday Night into early Sunday morning, with moisture pooling along the cold front and aiding in the development of showers throughout the area.

This front will eventually swing east of the area by later on Sunday morning. Behind it, another shot of cooler air will make its way through the Northeast states. Mid level temperatures will drop by several degrees, and northwest winds will begin in earnest. But this won’t occur fully until later on Sunday evening — and so despite the cooling occurring in the mid levels of the atmosphere, high temperatures will end up being quite pleasant. After the showers on Sunday morning, in fact, temperatures will reach into the mid 60’s with abundant sunshine.

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John Homenuk

Cooler, but still pleasant weather this weekend

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In response to warm southerly winds and a mid level atmospheric ridge, temperatures on Wednesday rose into the 70’s throughout much of the area. Temperatures on Thursday will behave similarly, rising again into the mid 70’s in many areas. Southerly winds will continue and, for the time being, the mid level atmospheric ridge will remain over head. But the pattern — in case you haven’t noticed, with below freezing temperatures on Monday — is transient, and the warm temperatures will be scoured out by a cold front by Friday.

Not all is lost, however. After a few showers late Thursday into Friday morning, cooler air in the mid levels of the atmosphere will move overhead, and the wind direction at the surface will turn more west/northwesterly. But pleasant conditions are expected to continue. High temperatures will be notably cooler on Friday than they were on Thursday, but the weather will remain pleasant — a trade off that most of us will surely take, this time of year.

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John Homenuk

Classic ‘Indian Summer’ will warm up the area midweek

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The bitter cold temperatures which caused a hard freeze in much of the area on Monday morning are a distant memory, for now. Temperatures during the middle of the week will warm up into the mid 70’s, as a mid and upper level atmospheric ridge builds throughout the area. Southerly winds at the surface will draw warmer, slightly more humid air into the area by Wednesday and Thursday. While temperatures will obviously be a bit cooler near the coast, the air will feel downright balmy compared to what we experienced earlier this week.

The warmth will be driven, as mentioned, by a building mid level atmospheric ridge. Southerly winds, even this time of year, can help to advect in very warm air. This week will be no different. Occurring after the first hard frost freeze, the warmer temperature and southerly winds are a classic ‘Indian Summer’, which by definition occurs “as the thunderstorms and severe weather of the summer give way to a tamer, calmer weather period before the turbulence of the winter commences,” per the National Weather Service.

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