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Just Plain Cold

mar3FREEZEAfter 115 consecutive subfreezing hours last week from 5pm Monday to noon Saturday, a new stretch of temperatures below 32 degrees started last evening at 10pm. It's 24 hours and counting and destined to go 24-48 hours longer! The mean temperature for February was -2.8 degrees. That followed the -1.6 degrees from January and the -1.4 from December. So the three months of meteorological winter were colder than average and including the -2.0 from November, it's the first time we've had 4 consecutive colder than average months since November 2010-February 2011. Today's afternoon high temperatures were close to 20 degrees below the average! March 2014 is off to a very cold start and there are no indications that any long-lasting warmth is on the way. The pattern favors more intrusions of arctic chill from Canada. Eventually, with the increasing power of the sun, these cold air masses will be more modified. Nevertheless, there is little hope that this March will flip into a warmer than average month- certainly nothing like March 2012 when the mean temperature for the month was a whopping 8.4 degrees above average!

mar4OCEANSTORMAs we enter another cold week, the threat of any significant snowfall is slim to none. The South Coast and Cape Cod received up to 1-2" this morning from the Mid-Atlantic storm that cranked out 3-6" of snow across Washington and Baltimore. The next weather maker may release some snow showers on Wednesday with a slight risk of a spell of light snow Wednesday night to daybreak or so on Thursday. There should be nothing more than a dusting to an inch from that feature. After that, an impulse arriving from the Midwest could trigger a developing wave of low pressure capable of dumping some accumulating snow Saturday night or Sunday morning. That system bears watching but, like all of its predecessors, it will be in progressive mode and not entering into any downstream blocking situation. Consequently, I would not expect a lengthy period of snow. Prior to that threat, a storm will be intensifying off the Carolinas on Friday but the steering currents should propel that system out to sea south of New England.

Todd Gutner posts his thought sin the morning and Eric Fisher returns later in the day.

Make it a great Tuesday!

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