WINDY AND COLD TODAY AND TONIGHT… THREE CONSECUTIVE FAIR WEATHER DAYS GIVE WAY TO A WINDY RAINSTORM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT WITH MILD TEMPERATURES… FAIR AND COLDER FOR THE WEEKEND WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT SNOW BY CHRISTMAS EVE… CATCH COMET WIRTANEN WHILE YOU CAN…
(6:05am Tuesday)
TODAY’S DATE: Tuesday, December 18, 2018
TERRESTRIAL:
HIGH AIR TEMPS: High temps should rise into the low to mid 20s in the Berkshires, SVT, western hilltowns, northwest CT and southwest NH, with highs in the upper 20s in the valley floor, northern CT and CMass
LOW AIR TEMPS: Lows should drop into the 5 to 10 degree range region-wide
SKIES: Mostly sunny
WINDS: Gusty northwest winds will blow to 40mph at times today, sporadic power outages possible in the high terrain
NWS ALERTS: None
CELESTIAL:
–OUR STAR WILL RISE AT: 7:13am this morning
–OUR STAR WILL SET AT: 4:20pm this afternoon
–OUR MOON WILL RISE AT: 1:49pm this afternoon
–OUR MOON WILL SET AT: 3:24am tomorrow morning
–MOON PHASE: Waxing Gibbous
SUMMARY
–Good morning humans, it’s a blustery morning out there with very cold temps in the teens and low 20s and a number of snow coatings that iced up the place
–Winds are gusting to 30-40mph this morning, and some sporadic outages are possible in the high terrain
–Strong wind gusts will continue into the early afternoon and then start to slacken
–Winds are in response to incoming cold air and the pressure gradient between high pressure moving in and lower pressure moving out
–Winds die down tonight allowing radiational cooling to maximize and cause temperatures to plummet given dry, calm, and clear conditions
–Highs Wednesday rebound into the mid to upper 30s under mostly sunny skies with lows in the 20s
–Highs Thursday continue to climb into the low 40s under mostly sunny skies thanks to departing high pressure
–Clouds increase Thursday night with lows in the 30s. Patchy fog will be possible as rain moves into the region after midnight
–Friday, the day of our Winter Solstice, is going to be a very non-wintry and stormy day with heavy rain at times and southerly wind gusts 35-50mph, with the highest wind in the high terrain
–Around 1-2″ of rain is expected to fall and street flooding will be a concern. We can’t rule out a thunderstorm as well. Highs reach the low 50s!
–Lows will only be in the low 40s with continued rain showers and patchy fog
–Saturday looks mostly cloudy with an early shower, but partly sunny skies are possible by late day with highs near 40
–It will cool down into the mid 30s for Sunday and Monday and I will be watching the potential for a light snowfall Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
Have a great day!
P.S. Comet Wirtanen, also called the “Christmas Comet”, is still visible with the aid of telescopes, so check it out if you can!