Moving On From Big Monday Miss

On the weatherman calendar March 1 is the first day of spring. That's right this is Springtime.
Break out the Tommy Bahama shirts and fire up the tailgate BBQ!

Oh wait.. it's a tad chilly you say? And it will not stop snowing you say?

Sometimes Mother Nature has a warped sense of humor. Round after round of snow and cold set up some of the best Mid-Winter skiing possible here in the northeast. That 6" 'surprise Vermont snow' on Sunday Morning was the cherry on top of a banner ski week where more than 15" fell from Mount Mansfield north to Jay Peak as an arctic front wobbled back and forth over New England.
Tim Fater shared this photo of Jon Dragonas getting steep and deep in the back country of Cambridge Vermont.


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Because the polar vortex has decided to take up residence in southeastern Canada (instead of over the north pole), our big blockbuster east coast storm (forecast bust) was pushed south all the way to Washington DC.  Now we have a couple of quiet weather days. The vortex is just far enough north to supply us the zero degree morning chill, but spare us too much bitter wind.

That DC storm is now on a one way ticket to Greenland. We get the backside High Pressure system with fairly dry air until Wednesday. The March sun will help to warm us to only 15-25 each afternoon early this week, with light to moderate wind.

The next weather maker to watch is another wave on the arctic boundary rotating south of the vortex Tuesday night and Wednesday. Though very little moisture is available, we may be able to eke out a few see through inches of fluff mid week. After that the stakes go up a  bit.

That monster California storm is not crossing the country as a single entity. Branches of the storm are causing all that mess to our south, but the upper low pressure center itself is slowly making it's way to The Gulf of Mexico. Once there, it does what you and I would do, drink in the warmth and humidity. By Thursday we will have a new low pressure center near New Orleans, drippy Mardi Gras!
On Friday the new low is near Hatteras NC. By then we are warming a bit here in New England, back to the 30s Friday! There will be a warm front coming at us from The Great Lakes which will generate a little more snow later Thursday into Friday.

The high stakes part of the forecast is whether we can merge the Great Lakes Front with the Mardi Gras warm storm. We are a little gun shy now, but there is a chance for another powerful nor'easter at some point Friday-Sunday. The crystal ball is rather fuzzy. But most of the necessary ingredients are available, cold high in south east Canada, storm moving off North Carolina, and a new cold front over the Great Lakes. Something is going to happen, we just can't say when where or what.

But if you are a fan of snow sports, skiing and riding does not get much better for this time (or any time) of year. Though it may get better. More cold and snow storms appear to be lined up through at least Saint Patrick's Day.

Cheers!
Tim
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