DAYS 1-5 (JANUARY 1-5)
Welcome to 2022! Happy New Year to all! We’ll start the year with weather that reminds me of New Year’s Day 1985, except with a slightly more uniform temperature profile. Back on that Tuesday in the mid 1980s, we had a low pressure area passing to our northwest with warm air aloft. A warm front was struggling to get through parts of the region, which were stuck in the upper 30s as high pressure in eastern Canada was sending a little wedge of low level cold down across parts of the region. Eventually everybody warmed into the 50s once the front went through on that occasionally rainy day with drizzle and fog. We have similar weather today, but the colder air is stuck further north (from about Manchester NH northward), so the WHW area is a little bit more uniformly in the 40s to around 50, and these temperatures will not change all that much today, and even tonight, when we get another surge of rainfall from the passing low. Sunday, a transition begins, which the low’s trailing cold front pulls through the region and temperatures that remain steady for a while then start to fall. Most of the moisture associated with the current system will have exited by the time this front is making its way across the area, but it may produce some rain showers during the day and as colder air comes in a follow up trough can trigger a few snow showers during Sunday night. Monday will feature mid-winter cold, but it will be fleeting, as we moderate rather quickly Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the next approaching low pressure system, which may bring rain showers by Wednesday.
TODAY (NEW YEAR’S DAY): Cloudy. Periods of rain. Areas of drizzle and fog. Highs 43-50. Wind SE to S 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Cloudy. Rain likely. Areas of drizzle and fog. Lows 38-45. Wind S to SW 5-15 MPH.
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Areas of fog early. Highs 45-52 occurring in the morning then falling slowly during the afternoon. Wind SW 10-20 MPH shifting to W.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Chance of snow showers. Lows 20-27. Wind W 10-20 MPH shifting to NW, higher gusts.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 28-35. Wind NW 10-20 MPH, higher gusts. Wind chill below 20 at times.
MONDAY NIGHT: Clear. Lows 12-18. Wind NW 5-15 MPH. Wind chill below 10 at times.
TUESDAY: Sunny. Highs 33-40. Wind variable up to 10 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Temperatures steady 33-40. Wind S 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Highs 43-50. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (JANUARY 6-10)
Watch for some unsettled weather with us near a boundary of mild and colder air in the January 6-8 time frame, leaving the door open for rain, mix, or snow. Fair, colder finish to the period.
DAYS 11-15 (JANUARY 11-15)
Mid January has a colder look to it, and some questions remain as to our snow chances, as it looks a little on the drier side of average, but this is LOW confidence so don’t draw the conclusion that there are no chances for any wintry weather.