Periods of rain will persist Friday, particularly in Eastern New England, tapering to a few scattered showers amidst some sun but cool air Saturday, then warming and continued drying Sunday and Memorial Day. Overall, a weekend of improving weather.
Friday Map:
Saturday Map:
Sunday Map:
Memorial Day Monday Map:
Moore, OK yesterday near Telephone Rd and SW 4th (west of Interstate 35)
My friend's son took this picture in Moore, OK yesterday, minutes after the deadly tornado struck. He was driving from his work in Norman northward to Oklahoma City. This normally 30 minute drive took him 5 hours. Images like this one, and worse, paint the picture of how devastating this tornado truly was. Now, as the recovery and clean-up just starts to get underway, another round of severe weather is expected.
Thankfully, the highest "risk" for severe weather is not in Moore today, but there is a moderate threat for severe weather from parts of eastern Texas to southwest Arkansas. This includes a 10% probability of tornadoes in these locations. While these are the prime areas of focus this afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a "slight risk" of severe storms that stretches all the way into the Midwest.
The frontal boundary that's serving as the battle zone for these storms will slowly approach the Northeast on Thursday. Scattered thunderstorms are likely in northern and western New England Thursday afternoon, sliding southeast during the evening and overnight. Some storms that develop may become strong to severe. We'll keep you posted on this threat in the next couple of days.
Meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by yesterday's deadly tornado. Click here for ways you can help.
-Danielle
For more, I invite you to follow me on Twitter, my weather Facebook page, and my non-weather Facebook Page.
Announced in our special weather program at 8 PM on Monday, April 22, "Project Weather: Spring," I'll now be offering an exclusive, nightly TEN DAY forecast on New England's Only News at 9 PM, Monday through Friday nights in our NECN Weather broadcasts. I'm excited to offer this forecast for the first time in New England weather, including the Boston television viewing area, and I hope the new extended forecast will help everyone at home to better plan ahead.
Some of you have undoutbedly seen my 8 to 14 day forecast on Monday night's News at 9 on NECN - that "Week Two" forecast has featured the overall weather pattern for the long-range, and has been a regular Monday night feature for nearly a year. This new venture into nightly ten day forecasting has grown from that Week Two forecast, and the overwhelming strong, positive response garnered from offering that extended prediction. Of course, we're all aware that a ten day forecast should be viewed as guidance, not gospel - there will be changes needed, just like there always have been to forecasts.
Just how accurate can you expect the ten day forecast to be? If you watch NECN often, or read my online posts, you know that one of the big things I look at regularly is "predictability" - that is, how much agreement on a particular forecast solution is there? Sometimes, we see excellent predictability from far in advance - I've made plenty of forecasts from two weeks out that have verified. Then again, sometimes we see very low predictability on a given day or weather event, and this can sometimes remain very low, even as we near the day, which is why there are days in New England weather that may be as much as ten or, very rarely, even fifteen degrees off our forecast for the next day! The key to finding the right length of forecast period is to examine average error of the forecast, rather than the exceptionally good or bad forecasts.
Back in the 1970s, a three day forecast saw a 6 to 6.5 degree error. Today, the error at Day 3 is closer to 3.5 degrees. The five day forecast has seen a similar improvement, with Day 5 verifying at about a 7 to 8 degree error when it began in the 1970s, and now closer to 4.5 to 5 degree error. Seven day forecasts are more recent, and therefore haven't seen such a substantial improvement, but since the 1990s have gone from a 6.5 degree error to a 5.5 degree error. In the summer months, our NECN Weather Team has verified closer to 4.5 degrees as an average error at Day 7.
So...what do we expect for Day 10? I expect an error of approximately 6.5 to 7 degrees is a reasonable estimate, though I hope reality will be even better. Regardless, that's the equivalent of what the three day forecast, five day forecast, and seven day forecast all saw when they first debuted - in other words, the time has come to make this advancement. It seems reasonable that if we can give you the forecast temperature to within 6 or 7 degrees, on average, at ten days out, this is guidance (not gospel!) that you can use to help plan. Deep summer heat or a cool down en route? Should we put in the air conditioner? Make an order for heating oil? These are the types of questions I believe you should have guidance to answer from ten days out.
I know I speak not only for myself, but for our NECN Weather Team, when I express our excitement to lead the way in New England weather forecasting - pioneering in the television industry for our area, but also doing so responsibly and after an in-depth evaluation to ensure we'll continue bringing you the same, high-quality forecasts you've become accustomed to from our team.
All My Best,
Matt
For more, I invite you to follow me on Twitter, my weather Facebook page, my non-weather Facebook Page, and, of course, check in at my Weather Analysis Page and NECN Weather Team Blog for new posts.
(As always, click on images to enlarge - video forecast is below) After a colder than normal stretch of 10-11 days, depending upon location in New England, near or below normal temperatures are expected in the coming 7 days, and the weather pattern appears to continue below normal temperatures in the 8-14 day forecast period. A jet stream trough will persist in the Eastern United States, with frequent shortwaves (disturbances) reinforcing the trough through the forecast period and continuing to drive shots of Canadian cold into the Northeast corridor. Ahead of a late week disturbance, warm advection (transport of warm air) in the southerly wind will boost temperatures at or below normal for a day, but will bring yet another shot of cool air in its wake.
As for precipitation, one rain making system will depart the Northeast at the start of the period, and the next will run the country from west to east later in the week, tapping the Gulf of Mexico for deep, tropical moisture and producing a swath of heavy precipitation across the Southeast quarter of the nation and into the Mid-Atlantic. What's uncertain at this timeframe is whether a full phase will allow for this surge of deep moisture to produce heavy precipitation in New England, or if the northern disturbance will remain separate just long enough to delay full phasing until the system moves off the coastline.
Video Presentation:
