Summer Holding On…

It’s not very often that a weekend in the middle of October can make a case for being a top-10 weekend, but it surely seemed to be the case the last few days. With a sprawling area of high pressure in place, and warm air above the surface, the region had warm, sunny days and clear and cool nights. It is after all October, and changes are in the offing. But it probably won’t be until the end of the week when the ridge completely gives way, allowing more seasonable temperatures. In the meantime, make sure to capitalize on the mainly dry (slight shower threat on Thursday) and mild temperatures.

Regional Highs 10/12/08 (Penn State)

Cold weather gone for awhile

This morning lows were just mild enough (mid-upper 30s) to preclude some frost forming on vegetation across SE PA and Central-South NJ last night. Scattered high-level cirrus clouds may have kept temps up just a bit to keep temps at those levels. A weak system is approaching the area for tonight and that will bring some occasional light rain showers until tomorrow morning. Then we have a pattern shift with a deep trough moving into Western US. This forces a ridge to build into the East and temps are going to rise. 70s and maybe even a few 80s are going to become common for highs starting tomorrow. The weekend is looking fantastic with sunshine and warm Fall temps. Enjoy.

 

500mb Upper-Air Map for 10-10-08 (8 AM)

 

 

 

The First Frost

Many locales experienced their first frost of the season early this Morning. Numerous towns dropped to the low-mid 30s across PA, N. NJ and SE NY. The October 7 date is somewhat average for a lot of spots. Ironically, the NJ State Climatologist points to 10-7 as the average date for then Northern climate section (excluding NE NJ). Of course this varies greatly from Sussex to Morris Counties. Some of the cooler temps found were Mount Pocono at 30 degrees and Sussex, NJ as well as Westhampton, LI at 31. The always cold Bradford, PA in the Northwest Mtns of the state dropped down to 24. I think that tonight will be slightly colder everywhere as the center of the highs sits right over the area. Winds should be calm and with slightly lower dewpoints. Look for some widespread frost over interior areas across the Northeast.

Low Temperatures for the morning of 10-7-08

Fall Weather Has Arrived

As was well advertised, an upper-level low has brought much cooler weather to the area. Temperatures even in warm spots like Central Park, struggled to top 60 degrees yesterday, and that will likely be the case again today. The good news is that should be improvement into the week as the low slowly loosens its grip on the area. We should see more in the way of sunshine and temperatures rebounding closer to normal levels. Enjoy the fall weekend!

GFS Upper-Air Pattern 2 PM 10-3

Here Comes Fall

After a few brief tastes of fall so far this year, it looks like the first sustained and long lasting brush with cooler temperatures is on the way. A slow moving upper-level low, will keep a cool pocket of air over the Northeastern US through the weekend. The same upper level-low is responsible for keeping a fair amount of daytime cloudiness in the area for the next few days, along with low grade rain shower or sprinkle threats. As for temperature ranges, it looks like the 60’s will about do it for the next couple of days with no source for mild air around.  Looking forward towards next week, it looks like a ridging pattern will become established, with a series of dry, warm days and cool nights.