A quick one: delay tomorrow?
After today's sleet - freezing rain - rain event, what is in store for the coming week?
Today's temperatures reached the upper 30s, but are falling precipitously as we speak. (As I type. You know what I mean.) It's 34 and foggy right now; by tomorrow morning's commute we'll see temperatures in the mid 20s with a stiff northern breeze making it feel like the teens. That will make for a rapid freeze-up, and the water left on roadways will make travel slippery before dawn. So I'm calling:
Chance of delay Tuesday, 30%
Chance of cancellation Tuesday, 4%
Wind chills overnight (Tuesday into Wednesday) will be around zero.
Cold all week, though not nearly as windy.
Milder by the weekend, when we'll have highs in the mid 40s.
Next good chance of snow or related action will be January 21st - 22nd.
Stay tuned for updates!
Snow day tomorrow?
The Hoff, unforgivably, takes Justin Bieber for a ride in K.I.T.T.Let's take a look.
Precipitation begins by 4 or 5am Monday. We will mainly see freezing rain (which falls as plain rain, but freezes on contact with surfaces, power lines, trees, and whatnot) with some sleet mixed in (which falls as frozen pellets, accumulating as it falls). The result looks like potentially significant icing, with up to a tenth of an inch of ice accumulation.
4-6am, sleet and snow
6-8am, sleet
8-10am, sleet and freezing rain
10am-12pm, freezing rain
12-2pm, freezing rain
2-4pm, freezing rain with some sleet mixed in
4-6pm, precipitation tapers, perhaps with snow mixing in
Look at this cool map of accumulated precipitation expected through Tuesday morning. Not a ton, but we don't need a lot to make things slippery.High on Monday will only be 33. We'll see significant travel difficulties with this storm due to slippery conditions and some downed lines/tree limbs. There will also likely be scattered power outages from this storm.
[Note: this is for the Lehigh Valley and Berks County region; areas south and east will see much more "plain rain" from this system, and will therefore have far fewer travel difficulties and delays.]
Scheduling:
Chance of delay Monday, 80%
Chance of cancellation Monday, 68.9%
Chance of delay Tuesday, 35%
Colder Monday night; watch for a quick freeze-up overnight into Tuesday.
The three-week period beginning on Tuesday 1/20 looks to be quite a bit more active in terms of the potential for wintry precipitation (especially given the relatively quiet winter we've had thus far).
Stay tuned for updates!
Quick update on the Tuesday action
Hey there.
Just wanted to give an update on the Tuesday action. Here's what:
Light snow develops across the area between 9-10am. Temperatures will be around 20 to start--and rising only to the mid 20s--so I expect this to be a fluffy, dry snow. Snow tapers by 1-2pm in this fast-moving system. Accumulations will be anywhere from a dusting to 1.875 inches. Travel could get hazardous, particularly in a squall (period of unusually heavy snow). But I think the timing of this event misses the early morning commute (7-8am) and the afternoon commute (4-5pm) in most places.
Chance of delay Tuesday: 9%
Chance of cancellation Tuesday: 17%
Chance of early dismissal Tuesday: 20.5%
Chance of delay Wednesday (due mainly to extreme cold/wind): 13.77%
Stay tuned for updates!
A little action this weekend.
It's going to be a wacky weather weekend, especially for winter.
On Saturday 1/3, we'll see some precipitation, heavy at times. There may be a little mixing (snow and/or sleet) as the precipitation begins mid-morning, but I don't see any travel impacts or accumulation for us in Berks (or Lancaster, or Lehigh, or Bucks Counties, or points south). Maybe a couple of inches in Schuylkill County and up toward the Poconos. Early morning temperatures below freezing will rise through the 30s throughout the day. Foggy and misty at night.
Rain lingers in to Sunday morning and tapers by early afternoon. Temperatures climb well into the 50s (even flirting with 60) in the afternoon, and there will be a humid southwest wind that will make people say, "This is hinky weather for January."
Temperatures fall through the evening and overnight, reaching down to 32 by the Monday morning commute. Quite windy and much colder with temperatures only getting to a high of 34 (it will feel like the teens), then plummeting down to 21 at night (it will feel like single digits). It will be the first day back to work for many teachers, and it is as if Mother Nature will be slapping us across our tender faces as we drag ourselves back.
Snow on Tuesday, but just a bit, and it's not even definite. So stay tuned for updates on that one, but for now I think it's minor to a non-event. (Cold, though. High of 28 and breezy.)
Wednesday and Thursday continue the frigid trend: plenty of sunshine both days, but very windy, and the highs only get up to 27 and 22, respectively. (Overnight lows in the lower teens both nights.) Wednesday will feel like single digits during the day with the cold air and wind, and the negative single digits at night. Walking to your car after work on Wednesday, you will turn to a co-worker--even a stranger--and say, "God damn it's cold!" After this utterance, you will shudder and then attempt to curl yourself in to a chill-proof little ball of warmth as you walk.
And then Friday we may actually see temperatures poke just above freezing! So that'll be nice.
Next weekend looks cloudy with snow (changing to rain) from late Saturday night in to Sunday.
The next good chance of snow? January 19th to 20th, and then January 22nd to 23rd.
Stay tuned for updates!
Boxing Day forecast!
The tag from Bunk's costume. Note how untroubled--even delighted--the dog in the picture appears as a stuffed Santa sits athwart him.First, throughout this forecast, by popular demand, you will see pictures of The Bunk. It has been some time since I have featured him in a forecast--an oversight that merits immediate correction.
So the weather. It has felt a lot more like early October than late December for the past few days, and that trend will continue through the weekend.
Here's what to expect:
Friday 12/26 - Boxing Day and the first day of Kwanzaa - more clouds than sun, highs in the upper 40s. Breezy, but a lot less windy than today. Lows around 30.
Saturday 12/27 - John Amos' birthday - partly sunny and rather mild, highs in the low 50s.
Bunk in his costume. Note how morose he looks. His is the thousand-mile stare of a creature wondering how he has wronged his humans, and wherefore they have thus forsaken him.Sunday 12/28 - Denzel Washington's birthday - overcast with a chance of rain showers on and off beginning about 2-4am. Temperatures reach the mid 40s but then drop through the 30s by Sunday night.
Monday 12/29 - the 844th anniversary of Thomas Becket's assassination inside Canterbury Cathedral, as well as the birthday of Danny McBride - overcast to start with a few scattered rain and snow showers (with no accumulation or travel impacts), then turning out partly sunny. High of 38, overnight low of 28.
Tuesday 12/30 - the birthday of both Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, so, you know, banner day on "The Today Show" - breezy and colder. Times of clouds and sun, high of 36. Overnight low of 24.
Wednesday 12/31 - New Year's Eve, Tim Mathieson's birthday, and, most crucially, from 9pm to 12:30am on CNN, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin will host their annual festival of awkwardness and inappropriateness - overcast and cold with some flurries possible. High 33 (wind chills in the 20s), low 22 (wind chills in the teens).
Thursday 1/1/15 - the first day of the New Year and Paul Revere's 280th birthday, and Frank Langella's birthday, AND Grandmaster Flash's birthday - sunny and cold and windy. High of 31 and low of 22.
The Bunk lounges, his favorite activity. A human has called his name, as evidenced by the look that says, "What trifles dost thou disturb me with? Cannot you see that I am in my repose? Waketh me not unless you have a treat to proffer."Friday 1/2 - Pernell Whitaker's birthday - overcast with sleet and snow overnight.
Beyond - Ice ending as rain for that first weekend of 2015. Looking at the periods of January 9-10-11 (1/10 is George Foreman's birthday) and January 14-15 (1/14 is Carl Weathers' birthday) for some wintry precipitation.
Stay tuned for updates!
FIVE GOLD RINGS!
Witness the power of suggestion: I have just put that song in your heads. (You are welcome.)
Here's what to expect for the rest of the month.
My newest tat.Windy and chilly (but with some sun) on Thursday 12/18. High will be 44, but it'll only feel like 2 with the wind. Nah, kidding. But it'll feel like the upper 20s. Gusty and shit. Tomorrow night's low will be 28.
Friday 12/19 looks chilly and breezy with more clouds than sun. Not as windy as Thursday, but still. It'll feel like 32-ish. Overnight lows plunge all the way down to 25.
Saturday 12/20 was looking interesting for a snow/rain event, but that's tracking south, so it's looking like a "miss" for us. I'll say cloudy and chilly with a few light snow showers possible Saturday evening and night. Temperatures holding steady in the 30s.
On Sunday 12/21 it'll be mostly cloudy but dry. Highs in the 40s.
Rainy on Monday 12/22 - but that's rain, not snow or sleet.
Some sun on Tuesday 12/23 and rather mild, with highs in the mid 40s.
Wednesday 12/24 looks milder still, with highs in the upper 40s. Expect breezy conditions with occasional rain showers.
Will we have a white Christmas?
RACIST.
Thursday 12/25 will be seasonably cooler (highs in the upper 30s) and a bit rainy/drizzly. We could see some light freezing rain/sleet overnight into Friday. But don't cancel your yuletide debaucheries.
Pattern shift on Friday 12/26: it becomes colder. High only in the mid 30s and a little brisk.
What about the weekend of the 27th and 28th?
I'm glad you asked.
A cold and icy shitshow, especially on Sunday. Highs don't even get above freezing.
Monday 12/29 will be sunny and really cold with highs in the 20s and lows in the teens.
Continued cold on Tuesday 12/30 and Wednesday 12/31 (full disclosure: it took me seven tries to type "Wednesday" correctly). Highs around freezing with some snow showers possible on the 30th.
When will it snow for reals, Monsoon?
January 1st and 5th and 8th and 12th, my good people. (At least that's what I've got my weather-eye on.)
Have a happy and healthy holiday season. I mean it. And happy new year.
Stay tuned for updates!
Scattered snow showers tonight, flurries tomorrow
Hi there.
Tonight (Wednesday 12/10), we'll see windy conditions with scattered snow showers. There will be little to no accumulation, but during a period of steadier snowfall we could see a slick spot or two (even some reduced visibility), so be careful. (Watch your bridges and overpasses, too, since they tend to freeze sooner than other paved surfaces.)
Tomorrow (Thursday 12/11), we'll see mostly cloudy and windy conditions continue. Scattered snow showers (and later, flurries) throughout the day. There may even be a period or two of steadier snow that'll produce some "are we getting out early"s and "can we open the window"s, but won't last.
Chance of delay Thursday, 32%
Chance of cancellation Thursday, 7%
Friday 12/12 will be breezy and seasonably cold with times of clouds and sun. It will be dry (no snow or rain or whatnot), but not great for being outside. Highs will be in the upper 30s, and winds will be out of the west-northwest at 15-20mph. So at, say, 1pm, it'll be 38 degrees out but it'll feel like 27. So it's not the best day to be outdoors, so if you have a job like construction worker, or surveyor, or garbage collector, or educator who needs to march his or her kids from one place to the next, gird your loins. If you must be outside--let's say, you are required to do so, like it's your job--then bundle up. It'll feel like it did today when we left school--chilly and unpleasantly brisk--minus the snow showers.
The weekend looks a bit milder (highs in the low to mid 40s), less windy, and certainly sunnier. Overnight lows just a short-hair below freezing.
Next week looks really nice: seasonable and dry. Highs will be in the 40s for the week, and then no frozen precipitation straight through to Christmas. Still looking at December 27th-29th as a potential snowmaker, and expect it to get downright frigid right around that time, too.
Stay tuned for updates!
Messy, soggy, chilly week ahead -- but nothing too rough
Motivational poster; words by Michael ScottSo there's a Nor'easter on the way, and it will dump lots of rain (but probably nothing else) on parts of our area. The SparkNotes version of the forecast is this: a lot of precipitation, but mainly rain on Tuesday; snow showers on Wednesday and Thursday that won't amount to anything; and milder beyond that. And the rain represents depression or something.
Here's the full version of the forecast.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Motivational poster; words by Dwight SchruteAlright. Happy medium.
Monday 12/8: In the mid 30s throughout the day. Precipitation begins by 8pm. Look for snow and sleet mixing in overnight, but by Tuesday morning, all will be rain. Up to 2 inches of rain for us; more in Jersey, so ponding on roads and even some flash flooding is possible. Precipitation ends by midnight, and I think it's gone before the cold air builds in, so the vast majority of the precipitation will be rain. Temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. Windy on Tuesday: 15-20mph with gusts above 30mph, so it will actually feel like the 20s (teens at night).
Wednesday 12/10: Rain and snow showers on Wednesday morning and afternoon, but nothing that will accumulate or make things nasty. High in the mid to upper 30s.
Motivational poster; words by SchmidtThursday 12/11: Breezy and cloudy with scattered rain and snow showers; highs in the mid to upper 30s.
Friday 12/12: Clouds mixed with sun. High in the low 40s; lows in the upper 20s.
The weekend looks partly sunny with highs in the upper 40s and low 50s - a perfectly delightful mid-December weekend.
Beyond: Milder, generally. Highs in the 40s, lows in the 30s. I don't really see any appreciable wintry precipitation until December 26th-29th.
Stay tuned for updates!