Quick Update on Icy Start and Windy Night

By Meteorologist Joe Joyce, WBZ-TV

December 12, 2010 9:19 AM

Joe Joyce, WBZ-TV meteorologist

Reporting Joe Joyce

Filed under

Blogs, Weather

Numerous reports of spinouts and icy travel this morning along and north of the Mass Pike. Early reports of black ice as far south as RI and Norwood with a freezing mist. Multicar accident in Amherst. Mass Pike down to 40 mph from NY to Weston, MA due to icy travel. No propane trucks…Icy conditions will slowly improve. Cold air slow to budge on pavements has allowed for a small icy accumulation on sidewalks and side roads…from Worcester county to the Merrimack River valley in towns like Middleton and Andover and Lawrence. The cold will hold longest this morning in the NW valleys and Worcester Hills…but warm air is already penetrating the boundary layer. Most of Southern New England will be above freezing by 10 AM thanks to warming SE winds. Vermont is snowing, while NH and ME can still expect a few more hours into Midday of Icy travel.

Focus will turn to bouts of Heavy rain and strong winds which will be developing today. Strong low level jet wind of 70-100 mph will be racing above our heads this afternoon and evening. Some of these winds will mix down in heavier downpours..especially at the coast and hilly terrain. Important to secure any loose items or Christmas decoration which may be exposed to the wind..especially if you live along the coast. Wind Advisory has been expanded for Eastern Massachusetts. High wind warning for coast of Maine which could see gusts to 60 mph later tonight with approaching front.

Rain will be heavy at times this afternoon and evening. Downpours with frozen ground could give way to localized street flooding and ponding of water. Watch for hydroplaning! It should be a wild night around here with a mild windswept rainfall.

How about Chicago…who is just getting started in the snow bands from the same storm which brought over 20″ of snow to the Minneapolis region. The roof has collapesed at the Metrodome which will put a delay on the Vikings and Giants game. Not good for the Giants who are in the playoff hunt…this will not help their preparation this week and could even affect next week’s game…hopefully!

Game time temps will be in Lwr 20′s falling into the teens with blowing snow and winds gusting to 30-40 mph. Windchills feeling below Zero at times. This will be a really fun game to watch!

Be safe out there on the roads…

Quick Update on Icy Start and Windy Night

LawrenceWX

Icy road conditions still in the Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen area. Please be careful if you are traveling in the Merrimack Valley.
elnoral

just wanted to ask if anybody might start thinking insted of alot of snow about a record breaking winter with not much at all,as we get deeper into the winter when do you start talking about this? Topkatt or jimmy james do you think we might be haeding down that road?
elnoral

it seems to me that after listening to you guys and local mets that nothing is in the pipeline,this will be a snow free month?

southshoretom

elnoral,

I think your statement is accurate through this next week, after that, impossible to say in my opinion. CPC’s NAO outlook is for the extremely negative NAO to weaken a bit later in the month. If that occurs, I’d think the weather pattern might change a bit. It might not mean snow, but, its probably a pattern the models cant accurately forecast 2 weeks out.

Hcarool

I wouldn’t give up hopes for an above average snowfall for this winter. And no one should because we still have another half of December and the entire January and February to go. Not to mention that March can also be very snowy. Lets just hope that we get into a snowy pattern in the future.
pags

I remember 1995-96 that we didn’t have any snowfall
in December then after the blizzard of 1996 we constantly
got nailed snowstorm after snowstorm until early
April so there’s hope
elnoral

i think with nothing in the pipeline we should be focusing on how little not how much this winter,
elnoral

i think melissa mack and todd gutner did a horrible job of hamming up the 1-3 inches we were supose to get friday night,all other outlets called it right with a few flakes
elnoral

i would like to hear topkatt or jimmy james comment on upcoming snow pottental for the coming weeks,i do believe these two people are better than local mets

Topkatt88

I’m just going week to week with this pattern because so much is determined by whether or not you have blocking, and then if you have blocking, what the magnitude of that blocking is. Many times blocking patterns are snowy ones here, but as you can tell by this one, not always the case.

I think there are enough potential readjustments to the blocking to not completely rule snow out in the Dec 18-23 period. HOWEVER, I have not seen anything as of yet that makes me worry about a major snowstorm in that timeframe.

As much as I think I have a handle on the pattern, I will never allow myself overconfidence and always keep in mind the fickleness of mother nature.

As far as going ahead, I think it’s too early to think about record low snow for the winter. And all it would take would be one snowstorm during the last 10 days of December to bring the snowfall for the month right up to near normal. So I prefer the wait-and-see game and just to talk about what I am most confident about.

ben

I think we need to remember that in forecasting snow, it seem to me that the safe side is to predict greater amounts… If the forecaster says an inch and we get 8 then it becomes dangerous. However, if the forecaster says 8 inches and we get 1… maybe some events are cancelled that should not have been… but the risk is not safety. This is just my thought.

Also, two things… First, any ideas on whether we could get a coating of snow Tues night/wed. from some backlash snowshowers? Also, the weather channel has Boston Rain and Snow Sunday thru Tuesday. I understand this is far out…. any thoughts?

Longshot

ben, I am no met, but for early next week the possibility exists. It seems there will be moisture and cold air. What I am less sure about is whether we will have a high pressure area to the north and whether the blocking pattern that exists now will “relax’ enough to let a storm come our way.

Scott

does anyone know how much snow fell dec. 1995-1996, the year with over 100 inches. i herd a few mets say this winter pattern is much like that one, with the la nina and blocking

Longshot

108″

elnoral

why cant joe joyce chime in on this?is he still working?.
Scott

just for December, not the whole winter
Scott

the GFS looks so lost and completely clueless
leo

where is the best site to look up the latest runs on the euro ?Thanks.
Scott

http://meteocentre.com/models/get_panel.php?mod=ecmwf&run=00&stn=PNM&map=na&lang=en
leo

Thanks Scott!
Paul52

The total snowfall here in the Pepperell/Townsend area was 26.3 inches; and I had already measured 26.9 inches here by this date. So, this is certainly nothing like 95/96 here in terms of snowfall! As of today my measly total of 0.2 inch is 8.2 inches below the average here through this date. Also, there was 14 inches of snow on the ground up in this area on Christmas 1995! This does not seem to be shaping up to be a good season for us snow lovers; especially when you are hearing long range forecasts calling for the long term warm up/thaw in January and we have yet to have any meaningful snowfall!
Scott

the long range forecast for dec. called for snow, which of course didnt happen, so what makes you think their really long range for jan. holds true?
elnoral

i guess my question is at what point do we start talking about record low snow totals?with the january thaw coming it might be time
Scott

ha thats funny elnoral, good one.
im still betting on jan-feb being very snowy
http://joejoycewbz.wordpress.com joejoycewbz

I will chime in here. The NAO and AO will remain negative for the rest of the month..but as mentioned…a trend towards Neutral by the end of the month.
This is favorable for below normal temps and more high latitude blocking. This week will be another wash with the upper low right over us. We are obviously not on the favorable side of the block with inside running storms…but all it has to do is shift a bit and these storms will be running up the coast…wishful thinking.
http://joejoycewbz.wordpress.com joejoycewbz

Maybe the slight weaking to the AO and NAO will be just what the doctor ordered. In fact the Euro is still showing plenty energy and a significant trough digging in along the east coast heading towards December 23rd. So there is still plenty of ammunition in this high latitude blocking pattern.
Scott

im not sure the models will respond to the changes very well of the NAO and AO, which is probably why the GFS seems so lost.(from what im seeing) also gata get the ocean water temp down a tad
elnoral

whats your thinking joe as far as snow this month,come on step up and make a call
http://joejoycewbz.wordpress.com joejoycewbz

I was using the la nina winter of 2007-2008 as a guide to this winter. that December BOS picked up 27″ of snow…nothing like this December…so this has me wondering what really awaits for January and February. Being that December has missed us..I think the chances of us getting our turn on the weather wheel increase as patterns tend to migrate.

Above normal temps are expected to be in the Southeast. this will play a factor in warmth getting involved in the pattern as well for the months ahead. There will be some mild times…but the mild will hopefully provide the energy and baroclinicity to get some good storms to gather up the Northeast