Remember Super Bowl Sunday February 4, 2004? That winter featured severe cold in New England. During the morning, before The Patriots beat the Panther's in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Chet Curtis took us for a ride in his plane. We flew from Hanscom to Nantucket and Back. Here are a few shots form that day.
News Anchor & Pilot Chet Curtis February 4, 2004
Gurnet Saquish, Plymouth Massachusetts
Dennis Massachusetts, Highlands Golf Course & Bass River, Looking South.
Bob Skilling of Blue Hill Observatory Reports that the January 2004 mean temperature of 17.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the 5th coldest on record there (1886-2012).
That was then, this is now. We are are now experiencing the opposite extreme of January 2004, on the warm side (but not quite as extreme). Bob Skilling reports the average temperature of 31.6 F for January 2012 does not rank in top ten warm. But when we combine the mean temperature of 34.4 for December 2011 & January 2012 is the 3rd warmest on record such period, behind 35.1 1912/1913 & 35.4 2001/2002.
Our Super Bowl Sunday 2012 Weather Map features an odd looking Jet Stream with plenty of action. Perhaps the most unusual feature being a Tropical Wave near the western tip of Cuba showing signs of becoming a tropical cyclone (though hurricane season does no begin until June). Talk about Balance of Extremes, as warm as we are in North America, it's that much colder (and snowier) in Europe and Asia.
This week is the Anniversary of The Blizzard of 1978, a volatile time of year for Major Winter Storms in the Eastern United States. It seems like the weather computer guidance has been trying to forecast an extreme storm and cold event here 'next week' for the last few weeks, and really much of the winter. So we are calling this the "Maybe Next Week' winter. It keeps looking like some major snowy and cold weather 'may' hit New England 'next week', or the week after. The Same goes for tonight's forecast. A Major trough may develop in the East February 11-14 with a Nor'easter followed by a dose of subzero air. or perhaps the week after that. But as we gain a few minutes of sunshine for day, spring is just around the corner, what ever happens should not last long.. unless.. anyone remember 1993? More on that later.
