Thursday Forecast

107 Comments

7:29AM

DAYS 1-5 (DECEMBER 17-21)…
Again carrying the same ideas forward. A broad area of low pressure will cross the region today and tonight with episodes of rain. Fair, windy, and cooler weather returns during Friday other than perhaps brief additional rain near Cape Cod from a wave of low pressure on the departing front. The weekend will see windy and colder weather Saturday with perhaps a passing snow shower, and fair but more tranquil though still chilly weather on Sunday. An approaching disturbance may bring some cloudiness at times and milder air for Monday but moisture for that system may be lacking so rain chances will be low.
TODAY: Cloudy. Patchy drizzle. Increasing risk of rain especially midday-afternoon. Highs 48-55. Wind SE 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Cloudy. Periods of rain. Areas of fog. Lows in the 40s. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy start then sun/cloud mix. Clouds and a little rain may hold on over Cape Cod into afternoon. Highs in the 40s. Wind W to NW increasing to 10-20 MPH with higher gusts.
SATURDAY: Partly cloudy. Isolated snow showers. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the 30s.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the 40s.
MONDAY: Partly sunny. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the 40s.

DAYS 6-10 (DECEMBER 22-26)…
Still like the idea of less amplitude and a little more progression than many models have been showing. Fair December 22. Mild with possible rain December 23 and rain showers December 24. Fair, windy, and cooler December 25. Fair and milder December 26.

DAYS 11-15 (DECEMBER 27-31)…
Risk of unsettled weather December 27 to early December 28 then fair weather returns. Temperatures continue to run above normal.

107 thoughts on “Thursday Forecast”

  1. Thanks TK !!

    While yesterday certainly had a cooler feel than what it has been, the four major climate reporting stations were +8, 10, 11 and 9F above normal for the day.

    If it doesn’t warm up even 1 more degree anywhere today, which would place high temps around normal, today will come in at +5F because the night time lows are at least 10F above normal.

  5. Thank you, TK.

    Tom, I was surprised to find yesterday was that far above normal. Thank you for that information.

  7. Then few days later, early on January 2nd.

    Here is a 250mb chart, clearly showing the split jet and the polar vortex waaaay
    up North where it won’t do us any good. No cold weather here with this pattern.
    Occasional brief shot is about it.

    http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gfs/2015121706/gfs_uv250_namer_53.png

    And the 850MB chart clearly depicting where the cold will be (according to this run):

    http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gfs/2015121706/gfs_T850_namer_53.png

  8. Forecasts seem to be backing off from earlier predictions of very mild weather the last 10 days of the month. Of course, our very own TK could have told them so. Still, it looks like a mild pattern is dominant, with perhaps some limited snow at times up north (good) and no snow in the Boston area.

    2. Not a fan of what the network makes him do. This is strong El Nino warmth… nothing more nothing less.

    2. Thank you JJ. Interesting indeed. I hope it works out for Pete. These things make me more than nervous and it is still a year away.

  11. Couple points from Henry Margusity’s blog from today
    For eastern snow lovers, the NAO is going negative and PNA positive before January 1st. That could lead to a quick snow event for Mid-Atlantic and New England. It’s probably a long shot right now, but the pattern is certainly moving in that direction.

    Lastly, I think we may be seeing the ending of the El Nino. Most of the El Nino models show the end coming by spring and the transition to La Nina

  12. Just wasted an hour trying to secure ADELE tickets for my wife.
    Ticketmaster blows chunks!!!

    2 days sold out in 5 minutes. They kept me online for an hour only to let me know it
    was sold out!!!!

  13. Latest run of GFS wants to start 2016 off with accumulating snow for Mid Atlantic.
    Will see if we could get any of the white stuff up here for the beginning of 2016.

  14. A friend of mine just called to tell me about the flying times from Boston to Long Beach and back. There’s always a difference, as heading west one encounters a head wind, and heading east a tail wind. But with El Nino, there’s a very significant difference: Close to 7 hours to Long Beach; less than 5 hours back to Boston.

    1. I’ve seen that many times with my Winter trips to Las Vegas.
      One January trip it was 6.5 hours out there and 3.5 hours back.
      Upper winds were very strong.

  16. I could be totally wrong and probably am but looks to me as the low is pulling away from the Mid Atlantic region cold air is coming in for some back lash snows.
    Not putting any stock this far out but couple runs now GFS trying to deliver some accumulating snow in that time period.

  17. This whole thing with Ch. 7 and NBC could really stink with me personally. I may have to purchase cable since the new WNEU Ch. 60 out of Goffstown NH will be the new NBC affiliate. According to the Herald article, the station is very weak and difficult to receive with just an antenna. I cannot afford cable. Maybe the vast majority have cable nowadays but I do not. 🙁

    1. That’s a pretty low blow to Boston and to you personally! Sorry to hear that.
      I have cable, so don’t give a rat’s ass. However, I HATE channel 7 (local), but many programs we like are broadcast on NBC. The Voice, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med and I am sure I am missing something.

      Where the bleep is Goffstown, NH? The name sounds like it’s in the Mount Monadnock region?????

      1. Goffstown is where my dad lived for years as a child before moving to Manchester. It is west of Manchester. My counsins son lived there until recently also.

    2. Philip I am sorry to hear that. I have a feeling it will not be good for anyone. I am curious as to why Pete would jump so quickly and hope he knows a lot more than we do.

    3. Phillip you are already on the outer edge of the of 41dbu FCC contour map for WHDH. These maps and reception ranges aren’t perfect and are subject to terrain, atmospheric conditions, etc. Do you use an outside antenna? Here are the maps for WHDH and WNEU.

      https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/whdh/contour-maps/
      https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/wneu/contour-maps/

      As you can see you are very close to the WNEU transmitter as it is (They are Telemundo affiliate which is owned by NBC. If you have trouble receiving them now then something is wrong with your setup. The article that mentioned poor reception was probably talking more for the core Boston area as well the south shore. If that ends up being a problem look for them to apply for an LP license somwhere in the Boston area or just south.

      1. Cool maps. Thank you.

        Oh, WNEU, the former home of: Al Kaprielian

        We DO have that on our cable system. 😀

      2. Oh yes and one other thing I forgot to mention. In the old days of analog TV if you were on the edge of reception or in area where reception is poor anyway (it happens..apartment buildings, in a valley, lots of trees as they attenuate UHF reception more than VHF, etc) you were still able to get a weaker snowier picture. Now with digital it’s either all or nothing (well maybe an occasional pixilated video). So for those areas were the signals were weak and snowy it will mostly be nothing. That is why more and more people are either getting dish or cable. Those who opt out of cable should make sure that the transmitters of the stations they want to watch are with 20-30 miles of their location or else they may have problems. The funny thing is that some very rural areas are actually better set up with a lot of low power translators left over from the old analog days (some in fact still broadcast in analog). The areas that suffer are regional areas outside of the city and the suburbs. As time goes on the demand for wifi, data and other services grow look for the FCC to continue to shrink the UHF band even more. There are no more stations above RF Channel 51 now as it stands…it did go up to 68 a few years back. The FCC would now like sell off another 10 channels or so in the next few years. Basically in about 15-2o years there will be no more UHF TV (which is where 95% of the channels reside now…despite the fact that the still call WBZ Ch 4, etc, etc). When that happens everyone will be watching TV either on Cable, Satellite, On demand, on computers, etc. Sad to say.

        1. Great info, Keith. Thank you. Quite interesting.

          I have to admit that when I started to read in the old days, I was thinking tin foil 😉

  18. Philip, I also don’t have cable. Used to. But, not anymore. Not a good use of my money.

    I’ve biked near Goffstown and en route to Monadnock. There are some very pretty towns as you approach Monadnock from Goffstown, including quaint Francestown, Greenfield (wonderful lake and state park), Hancock (as New England as it gets), Peterborough (artist and writer’s colony – nice restaurants and stores).

  19. Thank you tk 🙂

    Just a continuation of previous day, look mild to finish the year, and tk might be right on again where the mid Atlantic get a small 1-4 inch accumulation before southern New England does, after that it wants to go back above average. We shall see, wonder if we will break the latest snowfall record of a believe the 2nd week of January. I say lets go for it. 🙂 enjoy

      1. If it’s from a mobile device, it’s fingeritis and not even typos.
        I can’t type from a mobile device. I NEVER get the key I want!

        1. My older daughter can type on her mobile device without looking. I have no idea how she does it. And she is quick.

          Between the stupid thing correcting me and my fingeritis, my messages look nasty.

  20. Thank you Keith for those info maps and for those who shared your thoughts as well. 🙂 Yes, I am definitely just on the outer edge of that WNEU station but not by much. It clearly doesn’t reach the South Shore or even Worcester. I don’t understand why WHDH would make a deal with a station in a different state. What does NH have to do with city of Boston and immediate vicinity anyway?

    I am wondering about something though. If I am not mistaken, not too long ago Congress passed a bill that allows all citizens access to free TV (no cable or satellite). If I understand correctly, everyone must have access at minimum to all of the 5 networks of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX and PBS with just an antenna. So could this “deal” with WHDH and WNEU technically be in violation of the law denying my access to a major network?

    Comments welcome as always! 🙂

    1. Not a violation as long as you are in the “contour”. Also they could always say that those stations could be seen with an excellent outside antenna system. The problem there is that some people live in an restriced HOA situation (or something similar) and can’t put up an outside antenna.

      I’ll have to check the FCC regs about the right to be able to see the 5 networks. Once again every reception situation can vary.

      Also you mention in this latest post about being on edge of the WNEU contour…to me it looks like you are in the middle of it and that its WNAC you are on the edge of? The WNEU transmitter site is right near Manchester.

    2. Also OTA (over the air) only represents a smaller group of the viewing audience (maybe 25% at most). NBC’s coverage up in NH is spotty right now even with WCSH
      https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/wcsh/contour-maps/

      Here is on instance where the contour maps don’t tell the true story. A lot of their signal (RF channel 44) is attenuated pretty badly the further west the signals go (think mountains, hills, lots of green). On the other hand their signal gets up and down the coast pretty well (tropospheric ducting) and the maps don’t show that.

      WNEU will probably apply for (and get) an LP translator permit at sometime in the near future for the Boston area. To the south no one with an outside antenna will have much a problem getting WJAR from Providence (transmitter in Rehobeth).

      1. Phillip…I read the earlier msg by you wrong. My apologies. I thought you lived in Goffstown too LOL. Where are you located?

  21. I’ll be honest, I understand things being tight, but how do you not hav cable, it’s been around for nearly 40yrs!!! This is no offense to anybody that doesn’t have, but tough to rap my head around this. 🙂

    1. I take care of apartment buildings that r low income, and pay for lawn care services and have cable. 🙂

    3. We got rid of cable and switched the Comcast digital phone to Ooma, and cut our monthly bill by over $100. We have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and also watch BBC and ITV. We still see the odd entertaining rerun on MeTV.

      We have a tall victorian house with a large HD antenna in the attic, about 25-30 feet in the air, and we are 2.5 miles south of the Quincy/Dorchester line. The picture quality is waaaay better with the antenna. Cable compresses the image, which degrades it.

      What do we miss? Maybe some hot current tv shows. We can’t watch baseball, basketball or ice hockey at home, but we see enough of those games in bars and restaurants. There are so many games in those three sports, most of them feel not so important.

      Ironically, the one sport we do watch is Patriots football, and that is entirely available over the air. The higher quality over the air picture on the nice flat screen television is a huge plus.

      I believe that NBC will find a way to boost their signal in metro Boston. After all, they are trying to reach the many people in this densely populated area. There are not enough people in central NH to make it a desirable market for them.

      1. Compression is an issue with Cable. HD is so much better on OTA than cable. Amy with your antenna and the height of it…do you get a good signal from WJAR in Providence? When part of my radio hobby was also dxng TV I was able to get all the digital Providence stations, Boston, and Southern NH with my CM 8 bay UHF antenna. With any type of enhancement I also was able to get stations from Eastern CT and Southern Maine. The key is always to get the UHF antenna up high so it get’s past any trees and other obstacles. In the old days (for you and I Vicki 🙂 ) most of your network stations were on VHF (CH 2 through 13) Now almost everything is UHF and signals don’t carry as far and more prone to attenuation by obstacles on UHF.

        1. oh and actually central and southern NH is a desirable market in such that WCSH’s signal from Portland Maine does not do that well into NH. While on flip side WJAR’s signal (NBC) does get up in to the South Shore. See my earlier posts for the contour maps.

    4. Charlie with all due respect, you have trouble wrapping your head around many things so I will assume it is not the problem of others.

  22. I don’t like the fact that if I want cable my cable company makes me take on all these channels that I never watch.

  23. Pete is going to NECN.
    WHDH will lose NBC at the end of 2016.
    NECN and Telemundo will likely pick up NBC on January 1 2017.
    At that point WHDH will be left without anything and will probably cease to exist shortly after.

    2. JJ (I think it was JJ…bad memory) posted a good link earlier to the reasoning.

      So who carries all of the shows currently on whdh….if this occurs

      1. It may be the CW (Ch. 56)…not totally sure. After 2016 it is going to get very confusing, even those with cable I suspect.

        2. See my post below. Most of WLVI’s CW programming will move to WHDH. WLVI will probably be sold off by Sunbeam at that time. Especially if the FCC auctions off that part of the spectrum.

    3. WHDH will probably pick up the CW programming from WLVI (another Sunbeam owned station). WLVI will likely go away at that point. Sunbeam is the National Enquirer of broadcast excellence.

  24. Even though I don’t have cable, I can still get besides the major networks MeTV, CoziTV, ZUUS, THIS-TV (Ch.7.2), COMET, theworks (62.3) and M! (Movies!) so I am in no way depriving myself. How many channels can one watch anyway? 😉

    1. My sister in law just discovered Netflix. She mostly listens to bbc, radio France etc….radio. You are a smart man, Philip. I have maybe half a dozen channels I watch and pay for hundreds.

  26. All this TV talk. I used to be a freak on this stuff.

    While growing up in Millis, we used to get 10 & 12 in Providence just fine. Alos
    channle 9 in Manchester NH was Ok at times, fuzzy at other times. Could pick up
    channel 6 in new Bedford sometimes and once in awhile channel 3 in Hartford and
    channel 8 in New Haven.

    In Boston, with rotary roof antenna, got 10 & 12 clear. Channel 9 mostly clear.
    channel 6 ok.

    But as soon as cable was available, we jumped on board.

    BUT I HATE COMCAST WITH A PASSION!!!!!
    They SUCK, SUCK and SUCK some more. Piece of SHIT company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    And I mean piece of SHIT no good for nothing piece of SHIT!!!!
    And did I say, I can’t stand those A*****ES!!!!!!

    1. And I on the other hand have been with them for almost 20 years and in that time I’ve been pretty happy with them (maybe 7.5 on a scale of 1-10). Infrequent outages (less than a dozen in that time) and whenever I want to get a better deal I call them and usually we work something out. We have them for a combined package for phone, cable and internet. The biggest issues are with the phone service and in the long run those lines are still owned by…..Verizon (Who I don’t like at all). To each his own.

  27. I’m the type of person that once the newest comes out we have to get it, of course if it’s worth it. Some folks just want to stay in the old times, no disrespect intended 🙂

    1. And yet again…disrespect is given. Try stopping with what you like…ya know after the first sentence. I thought you were changing

      2. Just voicing my opinion and trying not to offend anyone, I know how sometimes people can be very offended by certain statements 🙂

  28. I actually very rarley watch local news, I do, but it’s rare. Most times I watch, it’s about crap I could care less about, plus our local news is becoming more and more politicalized, along with sensationalized. We are national news watchers, which is still political and sensationalized also, but not as bad IMO. 🙂

    1. I’d beg to differ (National vs Local). CNN, Fox, etc (maybe with the exception of PBS..and of course internationally the BBC) are all pretty bad. To them the News is now entertainment. No more Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor, Huntley and Brinkley, Tom Brokaw, etc. Two who come the closest (imho) are Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper on CNN (on the other hand Wolf Blizter and Chris Cuomo are pretty bad). On the flip side I still think Ch4 and 5 (with 5 being the best) don’t fall that far down the Sensationalism road. Once again though to each his own

  29. Ten years ago, we suspended our cable service while I was renovating the living room. The renovation was completed in about a month, but we never restarted cable service. Since then, our 24 year-old TV has only been used to play DVDs and VHS tapes (What’s that?!). When our boys were younger we referred to the TV as the “Bob The Builder Display Device”.

    It is amazing to think of all the books we have read and the time and money that we have saved over these 10 years. I am an avid woodworker. There is no way that I would be where I am with this hobby if I were sitting in front of the TV on a regular basis.

    1. As much as I enjoy having cable I spend a small fraction of time watching it. Mostly sports and a few choice shows (Anthony Bourdain, Falling Skies, Blackish, and few others). My family and hobbies (radio dxng, computers and reading) are much more important. However cutting the cable cord would mean one more thing…another antenna on the roof of the house or the garage…As it is my wife doesn’t really care for my antenna farm 🙂

  30. Charlie… If you have to announce that you don’t intend any disrespect or insult, then you are probably very well aware what you are about to say or just said is going to have done just that. There is nothing wrong with having a different view of something than someone else and your own set of opinions, but take some advice here. State the opinion, and leave out the part about not knowing why anyone else would see it any other way, or take a different action than you would take. Even with weather. I don’t think we need to be reminded about the majority of people liking mild weather in the Winter. It’s well-known that this is the case, but that doesn’t stop a snow lover from being a snow lover, or someone who enjoys cold weather from enjoying cold weather. We’re all individuals. Respect that.

    1. Not at all tk, I just know how folks can be so offended by just about anything, even things I say that I would expect not to be offensive, but then get blind sided, just covering my ground. 🙂

    2. If I said I’m voting for Rubio, to some here that would be offensive on here, if you told me your voting for Hillary, I’d be fine with that, and respect your vote. 🙂

      1. Wrong and that is what you do not understand. If you said you are voting for Rubio, no one would be offended. If you said you are voting for Rubio and do not understand why anyone would vote differently….THAT would be offensive.

        Now reread your comment about tech…you like new toys…others who do not like to be in the dark…

        Think about it …really think about it.

        Your comment about folks being offended by just about anything…..I cannot even go there.

  31. My sister in Vermont doesn’t have a TV. Nor does my brother who lives north of Philadelphia. My sister and her husband read a lot. They’re also incredible music aficionados. Come to think of it, my cellphone (an antiquated `dumb’ flip phone with Verizon service) doesn’t get service at her house in the woods. It’s one of many reasons I like going there. You feel like you’re getting away from it all. They do have DSL, so I’m certainly connected to the outside world when I’m there. But, quite frankly, my favorite thing to do up there besides outdoor activities is to sit by the fire, read a book on history or play backgammon with my niece. Ideally there’s snow falling, which I can see when I look outside at the lights above the garage.

    It’s old-fashioned. But, that’s who I am. And I’m sure there are quite a number of people who feel similarly. I’m not opposed to modern technology. I’m also fine with modern fashion and design (even if it’s not my thing). But, I’m most comfortable living without certain modern amenities.

        1. I am trying to figure out what to get for my 27 yr old son heading to CA to play his music and see how far he gets. He is a bit of a Luddite– he rarely checks his phone, but wants an iPad since he has no laptop or anything but I am deciding whether to get him cellular or just wifi.

          1. I love my iPad. I use it for things such as posting Here to reading…I have an extensive kindle collection of books…to news and music. On the other hand, My son uses his iPhone more than his iPad. Actually, all three kids do. Son was showing me Apple Music last week. I have not used it because I use Pandora in addition to my iTunes music. I have the sonos music system which, until last night, was not compatible with Apple Music. I was invited with 5 million others to beta test and it is great. MassBay if your son likes music, maybe in addition to what you get him, a years subscription to Apple Music. Others here may have a better suggestion. Apple is 3 months free trial and then $10/mo.

            As far as device,……sorry, I got off topic……if he wants an iPad and you think he has looked into it enough, I’d say go for it. If not, perhaps the phone. Or the iPad mini. An iPad is not as mobile and has no phone capability, but you cannot use a phone for books

            Whatever it is, I suspect you know to get the one with the most storage to accommodate his music. If you get iPad and don’t want a plan, Apple Music also lets you download for offline.

            Can you tell I am having fun with my new toy?

            1. I of course reread your comment and see I was off and running. I’m not sure what you mean by cellular or wifi. Do,you mean one that has wifi capability to use anywhere as opposed to one you need to be in range of a wireless network?

              1. Yes. The cellular gives him satellite connection all the time– wifi connects only if you have wireless access; we could get a chip ( if I understand ) so it could be a phone if he needed it. And he is a musician and records his own music nightly on his phone. The iPad could be another device for that. This is quasi-Greek to me as I am a flip phone guy, tho I had an iPad for a year.

                1. If he has an iPhone, it could be a hot spot he could use to connect. I would go to apple and see what they say…they can be very good about not overselling. My son in law has the chip and loves it

  32. Its amazing how much television is different now. I remember my mom telling me stories of the rabbit ears and only being able to watch two channels 3 our CBS station in CT and 8 our ABC station in CT. If you were lucky you got three channels and the third channel would be 4 NBC station here in CT.
    Now it feels you got hundreds and hundreds of channels with these cable packages and I don’t even watch close to half of them and some of these cables companies keep raising their rates and there not offering anything different.

    1. JJ…that’s how I got hooked on dxng (Radio and TV). There is still the allure of radio dxng and hearing far away stations.

  33. Charlie, I’m not offended by people’s political choices, or weather preferences for that matter. We all have opinions. We all have different tastes. Thankfully, they’re diverse opinions. It would be boring were we all to think and act the same way. I think TK is alluding to your announcing that you don’t intend any disrespect or insult, or that you can’t wrap your mind around a preference people may have (eg, not having cable). I’m guilty of saying things like this, too. But, I think we all should avoid that when we can.

    Marriage counselors will say that one of the things to avoid telling a spouse is: why on earth do you like that, or I can’t fathom anyone liking that. It immediately puts the other person on the defensive. Now, we’re not married at WHW. But, we are friends. Caveat: Given that I’m a divorcé you may use the salt shaker a bit with my words of advice on marriage or friendship.

    1. Joshua I give you lots of credit, you are smart, not passive aggressive, and real. I respect that. 🙂

  34. Believe me folks I’m not here to offend anyone, it just seems that my opinions offend many on this blog, yet on other blogs it’s not offensive at all. I respect everyone’s opinion, I’m just feel sometimes when I voice my opinion here I’m on a thin ice,”sort of speak” and again I hope this doesn’t offend anybody, because I’m not meaning too. 🙂

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