TABLE OF CONTENTS
* Daily Celestials (Sun/Moon Data)
* Sponsor Note
* Morning Discussion
* TIP: Scroll below for sections, or read all
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YOUR DAILY CELESTIALS
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STAR:
–OUR STAR RISES AT: 7:18am this morning
–OUR STAR WILL SET AT: 4:37pm this evening
–TOTAL DAYLIGHT TIME: 9 hours and 19 minutes
MOON:
–OUR MOON RISES AT: 12:30pm this afternoon
–MOON RISE DIRECTION: East-Northeast
–OUR MOON WILL SET AT: 4:19am tomorrow morning
–MOON SET DIRECTION: Northwest
–MOON PHASE: Waxing Gibbous (77.1%)
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A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR
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Dave Hayes The Weather Nut is Sponsored by Individual Community Members, Patrons, and Tandem Bagel Company… No matter the weather, Tandem Bagel is always there for you at several valley locations to make your mornings brighter! With *New Pizza Bagels(!)*, along with bagels baked fresh daily (including Gluten-Free options), house-whipped cream cheese, coffee, and tons of lunch options, Tandem is the perfect quick stop for lunch, breakfast, or a coffee and bagel to go.
You can either 1) visit them in Easthampton, Northampton, Hadley, Florence, and/or West Springfield, 2) hire them to cater your next event, or 3) use their super-streamlined online ordering tool by visiting their website and clicking the “Catering” or “Order Online” links.
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YOUR MORNING DISCUSSION
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Good morning, folks, the northwest wind has continued all night as a persistent low level jet rides over our region thanks to a major blocking pattern that features high pressure over Iceland, low pressure northeast of Newfoundland, Canada, and high pressure over the middle Mississippi River Valley in the U.S., with all three of those major systems in a line from northeast to southwest.
These various circulations have kept us in a constant northwest flow state with a tight pressure gradient, and that is why our windy conditions have lasted for so long, and they will continue today with northwest gusts of 30-55mph expected, which means isolated outages and/or tree damage here and there.
So, expect another cold and blustery day, but at least temps will start to come up a bit, with highs in the mid to upper 20s under partly sunny skies. Wind chills will again be in the single digits with some readings below zero at times.
We also have a weak wave diving south through eastern New England which is producing some very light snow showers in central MA, northeast CT, and may graze easternmost parts of WMass, or kick up some snowflakes in the Berkshires/Litchfields. Some dustings are possible.
Wind will continue tonight, but should tamp down a bit, still gusting 20-35mph at times with lows in the upper single digits to teens, and wind chills again below zero at times, though this should be the last night of such bite-y frostiness.
Friday looks gusty too, but the pressure gradient will be weakening, so I expect gusts to come down into the 20-35mph range Friday morning, and then weaken further later in the afternoon. Highs should be milder, too, reaching the mid 20s to mid 30s… it might even feel balmy toward sunset!! #NOT
Lows will hang in the mid teens to low 20s as clouds increase with our northern stream low pressure system set to move through the region Saturday.
Light snow showers will break out, and some periods of snow could be steadier as this system moves through Saturday. The ground will be PLENTY cold, so snow will likely stick quickly, so even though I’m expecting a coating to up to 2-3” in some spots through the mid-afternoon before it winds down, slick travel could develop, so don’t snooze on your level of alertness if out and about.
Very cold antecedent surfaces don’t need much snow (or freezing rain, in those cases) to get slippery.
Highs Saturday will climb into the mid 20s to low 30s with lows in the teens as the storm exits east.
Sunday and Monday look quite nice, actually, with high pressure building in and mostly sunny skies expected with highs reaching the upper 20s to mid 30s with lows either side of 20º.
By Tuesday, another weaker low pressure system will be tracking east through Lake Ontario, northern New York and into northern New England, which will drag a cold front towards the greater WMass region.
This should help produce some new lake effect and/or upslope snow showers in the Berkshires and SVT, and moreover will drag more cold air back into our region by mid-week, with potentially gustier conditions after a much-needed reprieve from Old Man Winter!
There are some stormier signals by later next week into the weekend and beyond, so I will keep you updated, but for now, no big storms in sight and only two light snow potentials this Saturday and next Tuesday.
Have a great day!
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
― Joseph Campbell