Pinkham Notch New Hampshire, elevation 2,032 feet, reported a temperature of 55 degrees at noon Sunday January 13, 2012. As far as we can tell, that was the warmest reading in all New England for this January thaw. The thaw (when nighttime temperatures stay above 32) began January 10th, was interrupted by freezing cold Friday night the 11th, is ending Monday the 14th. About a 5 day defrost.
High above Pinkham Notch, at the Mount Washington Summit observatory, elevation 6,288 feet , observer Steve Welsh reported 48 degrees on the outside. Steve says that 48 degree reading is now the warmest on record for the month of January. This history making measurement beat out 47 degrees set January 19, 1995. Then a funny thing happened, a wind shift from west to south cooled the temperature 9 degrees, from 48 at 6 am to 39 at am. The wind went from west at 20 mph, to southeast at 14 mph during that time. That is one of many curious observations during this weekend.
Cold air is heavy and takes the shape of it's container, it's called an inversion. The higher the barometric pressure, along with the lower the wind, the more stable the inversion. This weekend featured many outstanding observations the inversion.
Max, 'Snostradamus' Gosselin took this photo, looking south for the summit of Wildcat Mountain NH Saturday Morning Jan 12, (Wildcat is across Pinkham Notch, to the east of Mount Washington).
We also had a record high on Mount Washington Saturday January 12, 2013 when the temperature reached 40, matching 40 from 1975.
One of the fascinating aspects of this weekend's weather was the contrast in temperatures from down low to up high. As of 7 pm Sunday, the high temperature at Concord NH was only 43, 12 degrees colder than Pinkam Notch. even Boston at 49 was colder than the notch.
Here are some more fun photos from Sunday's Magical Inversion.
Mount Washington. Rare Cloud, Stratus Undulatus Asperatus
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Mount Mansfield Vermont
Cold ground radiation fog. High temperature 50 at Summit.
Snow depth at stake compacted from 51 to 40 inches last 5 days.
Weather Stories
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Satellite image from Saturday showing small low south of Nantucket, remnant of Thursday 4" Rain Texas, tracked to New England, weakened to .2" of rainfall here, then fell south on west side of block. Not shown is huge storm east of Bermuda, remnant of Friday Newfoundland Blizzard, which is now a central Atlantic block.
All part of Atlantic Block, that kept us in low level 'chill' through the thaw.
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Sunday Jet stream, see the Atlantic Block.
Forecast for this week. Wednesday January 16, 2013 Jet Stream Pattern. Plenty of energy but no way to focus any one storm, or to time and individual front. Something will happen, we just do not know what. Upper level wind speed will exceed 100 knots over New England. A series of waves on a front over the Mid Atlantic may bring snow and rain to southern New England. A series of waves on an Arctic Front in southern Canada may bring occasion snow showers and squalls to the mountains of Northern New England. Some of the coldest air on earth will build in Canada the next 10 days.. maybe arriving near New England by January 20-30.
