DAYS 1-5 (NOVEMBER 17-21)
The Greenland Block that has been the main driver of our weather pattern lately is going to dissolve this week, but it won’t happen all at once. It remains strong enough to hold in place a gusty breeze and chilly weather between low pressure in southeastern Canada and an area of high pressure approaching from the west through Tuesday. It gives way a bit more by midweek, but at that time we’ll have high pressure building right over our region, which will shunt a small storm system south of the region – out to sea. During Thursday and Friday, the high pressure area that sat near Greenland will finally drift eastward across the far northern Atlantic and open up the avenue for the next low pressure area to cut through the Great Lakes and into southeastern Canada. This will happen on Friday, when we have our next chance of wet weather in the form of rain showers, with temperatures a bit milder than they will be early in the week due to an influx of Pacific air moving across the northern US and arriving here. Regarding the Friday wet weather threat, there has been some disagreement among the various computer models as to just how much rain will take place. At the present time, I am leaning toward a fairly light and short-lived event due to the ability for low pressure to move more quickly along a newly configured jet stream, and not much ability to pick up moisture from the south on its journey. It being several days away, I’ll watch trends here for both precipitation amounts and timing and update through the week.
TODAY: A sun/cloud mix with a slight chance of a brief passing snow flurry. Highs 38-45. Wind W 10-20 MPH with gusts around 30 MPH, strongest over Cape Cod and higher elevation locations.
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy to mostly clear. Lows 25-32, except 30-37 Cape Cod. Wind W 5-15 MPH, gusting around 20 MPH.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Highs 40-47. Wind W 10-20 MPH, gusts around 25 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Clear. Lows 23-30 except 28-35 coastal areas and urban centers. Wind W 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Sunny. Highs 46-53. Wind W 5-15 MPH diminishing and becoming variable under 10 MPH.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Lows 21-28 interior valleys to 25-32 elsewhere. Wind calm.
THURSDAY: A sun/cloud mix. Highs 47-54. Wind variable up to 10 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Increasing clouds. Lows 32-39. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Highs 47-54. Wind SW 10-20 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (NOVEMBER 22-26)
During this period we have a Pacific flow pattern without blocking. What I expect is that a follow-up low pressure on the front that goes by the day before will pass south of our region to start the weekend on November 22, so a dry, breezy, and seasonable outlook for that day, with fair weather into Sunday as well as a weak area of high pressure moves over the region. With only moderate confidence at best I forecast the next low pressure to ride our way from the west southwest about November 24 with a milder pattern in place, so a rain chance for that time. Behind that system should come a return to drier and slightly cooler weather toward the middle of next week during the busy pre-Thanksgiving travel period, which if correct would be good news for this area.
DAYS 11-15 (NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 1)
This period of time, starting with Thanksgiving Day on November 27 and leading up to when we flip the calendar from November to December, is rather tricky. No doubt you’ve heard chatter on social media and some news outlets about a potential pattern change to allow colder air to spill into the country as the polar vortex undergoes a disruption. These disruptions are quite hard to pin down for both timing and just how the break-down will configure itself – troughs vs. ridges, quasi-stationary vs. progressive pattern. This pattern shift may begin to take place during this period, but may be slower than a lot of guidance suggests, so for the time-being I will continue to forecast a storm track into the Great Lakes, with one such system doing just that at some point during this period, with milder weather ahead of it and a cooler shot of air behind it. No other detail is possible at this time, but it’s something I’ll track closely as we head into late November.