Gray & Cool

87 Comments

3:17PM

Unsettled and cool weather will continue for the couple days as another disturbance moves through the region. Improvement may come late in the weekend into the start of next week with a sliver of high pressure, but it  looks like a trough and more unsettled weather will rule the weather in southern New England for the balance of next week.

Forecast for RI, eastern MA, and southern NH…

REST OF TODAY: Cloudy. Areas of drizzle. High 50-55. Wind SE under 10 mph.

TONIGHT: Cloudy. Areas of drizzle. Chance of showers after midnight. Low 45-50. Wind S under 10 MPH.

FRIDAY: Cloudy. Showers likely. High 55-60. Wind S up to 10 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Chance of drizzle. Low 45-50. Wind N under 10 MPH.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of drizzle. High 55-60. Wind E up to 10 MPH.

SUNDAY: Partly sunny. Low 44. High 60.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Low 49. High 66.

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 52. High 64.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. AM showers. Low 50. High 60.

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of drizzle/showers. Low 48. High 58.

87 thoughts on “Gray & Cool”

  1. Thanks, TK! Wow, I always thought the lightning came first which caused the thunder! Interesting – and I guess I am still learning. Thanks to your blog we learn new things every day! 🙂

    1. To clarify, lightning does indeed cause thunder. But at its source they occur together. The lightning heats the air to about 50,000 degrees F which causes extremely rapid expansion of that air, resulting in a powerful shock wave, which moves away from the lightning channel for the first several hundred feet as a shock wave, then becomes a sound wave, continuing to travel outward in all directions at 1100 feet per second. Eventually the wave becomes so weak the sound dissipates, which is why once you are more than approximately 15 miles from lightning (this varies depending on many factors) you can no longer hear the thunder. This is also why the 5-seconds per mile rule works. By the time the error would be too large, you’re too far away from the lightning to hear the thunder anyway.

      2. topkatt a lightning strike once struck the house next to mine and felt like an earthquake hit. glasses feel from the cabinits. But I also heard thunder and it was within 100 ft I guess there are exceptions to the rule?

        1. You’d have heard a shock wave in the form of a bang, crack, snap, or loud pop from the bolt next door, but since some lightning strikes are double CGs, that is, one CG at one location and another CG up to a mile or so away, you may have heard thunder from the 2nd bolt a few seconds after the snap from the close one.

        2. It hit our yard either last summer and years ago hit a metal screw in a tree where we had a hammaock. The explosion was deafening. For the one that hit the tree I was just looking out the porch which is about 35 ft from tree and it took me a while to be able to hear properly. Not to mention that I literally jumped

    2. Hey I remembered correctly – a good thing when you get to be older 🙂

      And TK – I don’t mind the weather at all either. I don’t think there is any weather I don’t like

  2. I hate to disagree with the blog man, but he’s not quite right. Lightning does come first. It’s what causes the thunder. Lighting super heats the air causing it to expand. When the air cools, it contracts very rapidly and the contraction is what you hear as thunder.

    1. You’re right in that there is a tiny delay, but it’s almost instantaneous. The delay is so short we would not notice it without sophisticated equipment.

    2. And yes again, your description of the contraction is even more complete than mine. The rapid expansion of air naturally leads to a contraction as well, which I did not mention above. That is the true cause of the shock wave. Nice job. =)

  3. Hey TK…no big deal but sometimes when I wish to reply to someone specifically (i.e. the original poster), my reply shows up at the end of the cue instead of directly underneath the person I really want to reply to.

    Can this be fixed by your geek team? Thanks in advance. 🙂

    Also, I much prefer that you use the traditional smiley face 🙂 instead of this =)…do they mean the same thing? No big deal on this either, btw. 🙂

  4. Yea, i dont know whats going on with that Phillip. I posted my explaination at 3:46 and TK posted his after mkine at 3:47, but his went on the blog first. Go figure.

  6. You can tell which post is replied to by the indentation location. They are all in chronological order, or should be. I don’t think my tech geeks can do much about this. It’s a WordPress thing. As for the smiley face, the =) is something I just started using on FB because I hated the icons there, so sometimes it carries over to here. They are indeed the same thing.

  7. I heard on tonight’s CBS Evening News that after two years, La Nina is…gone! 🙂

    Good riddance! 🙂

  9. I think there will be quite a few dry periods mixed with rain showers/tstorms tommorrow esp south of Boston, I think providence receives around a quarter inch while Boston receives half inch while even further north of Boston receives more 1+ in localized downpours.

    1. You really know how to hurt a guy, huh.

      I still think that with all this heat around, once we get rid of this block, we come out on the warmer side of summer, el niño or not. Even if it does portend cooler weather, I think the lag will put us in the later part of the year for the cooler weather. That’s good for you snow lovers too. Maybe a bit of hope for all of us for a warm summer and a snowier winter.

      1. Idiot weren’t for the block, that heat would be in here, at least partly. That’s why I think once this breaks, we get warmer weather.

  11. Thanks Tk.
    It maybe a good thing the warm front does not clear the area and were stuck in the clouds with a cold front coming through tomorrow since we don’t have to be concerned about strong to possibly severe storms which will stay west of SNE through the Hudson River Valley of NY. That area could have some MODERATE level activity.

    2. Wait a sec. I thought you like the storms.

      I’m disappointed. I’ve been looking forward to the possibility all week 🙁

      1. Since I don’t like thunderstorms OR this stuff, I’ll take clear, dry and 75-80 degrees, lol. 🙂

  12. I like thunderstorms Vicki but not when they get severe and produce straight line wind or tornadoes.
    What I see happening tomorrow is a front coming through but the activity will weaken once its gets in SNE. The wind direction is from the south bringing in that air off the ocean which will help stablize the atmosphere over us. Thunderstorms thrive on that unstable air and I don’t see that in place here tomorrow.

    1. Ahhh. I see and as always you and I are on the same page. I wondered if you meant the dangerous type.

  14. I have learned something new from Pete’s evening blog. 🙂

    We are currently in the beginnings of solar summer (May-June-July). It is the period in which the sun’s angle is at its highest.

    When is the sun at its lowest? Nov-Dec-Jan?? And does it have a specific name?

        1. I’m not sure if it’s a completely defined term as compared to meteorological summer or astronomical fall, etc. I have heard other meteorologists use the terms solar summer, winter, etc….yet they have used other dates to define it.

  16. It seems that today’s rain hasn’t given Boston much at all. The NAM is still having it’s issues…

  17. Long range indicates a nor easter up the coast middle of next week. Seems the small break we get sun through Tuesday is short lived. The pattern continues.
    I still maintain we are in this through the 3rd week of May before we see a break. Maybe longer if the nao remains negative. Latest forecast shows a negative nao through at least mid month.

    1. That’s what 7 was saying this morning. I’m beginning to think that we need to do something about AceMaster’s and my husband’s Tuesday/Thursday golf league nights. Seems they are both attracting the rain 😉

        1. Starting tuesday and going through Thursday – it’s getting both of your league nights 🙁

  18. There is a Perigee Moon this weekend – at its largest at 11:34 tomorrow night. It’s 225,000 miles from earth – about 27,000 closer than the apogee. It’s the closest and largest full moon of this year

    Tom as soon as I read about it I remembered you explaining it to me back when we were in Humarock in January.

    1. Yes….the actual full moon and when it’s at perigee nearly happen simultaneously, which is not common to that degree. Can already see the range of the tides increasingly rapidly, as of yesterday.

  19. Maybe it’s me, but it just doesn’t feel as raw out as it has been. Not exactly warm and humid, but not quite cold and raw either

    2. I agree, it doesn’t have that little sting in the air that we have been experiencing the last couple of days.

  20. One of the many reasons I live in NE and love it is the changeable weather. I don’t do well if we get the same weather for too long of a period of time. I get antsy and bored. Its easy to say that too many gray or rainy days will make anyone feel down, but I get depressed even when we have too many days sunshine. I know a few weeks back we were all wishing for rain and now that its here i want it to go away. I’m a spoiled New Englander and I’m proud of it 😆

      1. Sounds awful doesnt it? I dont know if its that its too much sunshine, its just the fact that too much of the same thing is what depresses me. If that makes any sense, lol

    2. AceMaster – I totally agree. If it’s too much of the same there is nothing special about it.

  21. going kyaking this evening to try and find the coyote or coyotes that people have reported to my neibor. He says someone down the street has spotted one and heard others in the woods behind his house which is right near the marsh.. He is coming with me. We had not heard them but we had several reports given to my neibor. we seen a fisher cats last week and a few river otters. Also I found a family of bunnies going around my yard. My indoor cat wanted one.

    1. Had a coyote go through the backyard summer before last. I was on deck reading. He was between me and door but he didn’t seem interested in me

      1. I did not see any coyotes this evening in the areas where we had reports. MY neibors freind has a license to get a tracking device into one. so its going to be neat if we can track it.
        Last year we were on kayak and we saw a small group maybe 3 or 5.

      1. Whale Wars: Viking Shores follows the sea sheapeards as they try to protect wild life. They are tring to stop Pilot whaling in the islands of the Faroe Islands. They have had one of the best seasons ever this year. Its on animal plantet

          1. We are watching who do u think u are. I love genealogy. But I have whale wars set to record. Will watch tomorrow night! Thanks. We enjoy animal shows

              2. My husband and I will watch it. That is very thoughtful of you to warn me. Thank you

  24. Just a trace here, the nam is having some issues and it’s raising my blood pressure 🙂

  26. neibor got some cameras that we can put into trees and let them role then come back and get the footage. 🙂

  29. Yes and just glancing at the model guidance it looks like a widespread 1-2 inches of rain, yes it’s 5 days away but that’s what I see tonight, it’s gonna be grabbing lots of moisture from the gulf so will c 🙂

  30. I really think the sun comes out tommorrow afternoon in some places around here 🙂

    1. agree and I hope. I am going to my extened family for the first time in like a month. we were suppose to go out easter but did not since people were sick. So I am excited 🙂 My grandparents , Two aunts and 3 uncles ,4 cousins all live on the same street. own most of the woods behind one side of the streets WE track things out there as well. The marshland behind my house and my grandfathers field and wood areas are were I can go and relax and not care. 🙂

    2. You just made me break out into a chorus of the Sun’ll be out tomorrow…………

  32. Good morning everybody. Blog is updated. I’ll be checking in periodically during a very busy weekend and updating for the coming week on Sunday evening. Have a great weekend!

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