Windy Ups & Downs

 I have been so busy tracking snow storms, then going surfing, I have been missing the best foliage of the season. This week my brothers picked me up in Norwell for a ride watch High School Football in Byfield Massachusetts. The weather and foliage were both beautiful, here are a couple shots from Wednesday November 9, 2011 as visiting Middlesex beat up on my Nephew's Governor's Academy JV team.
Govs Football.JPG

Red Maple Byfield.JPG

Thanks to a combination of a wet spring/summer, Hurricane Irene, and a warm wet & white autumn and other mysterious factors.. The Foliage here in New England has been funky to say the least. But this week was gorgeous in Eastern Massachusetts. The maples turned and shed leaves in a flash, while the oaks turned Red, Brown, and Yellow. The Consensus is we are at least a week behind on leaf turn and drop. Now all but the oaks have shed leaves, we are in raking season. But what about all this wind? If you can't beat it join it, rake from west to east, that's the prevailing wind direction this week.
We have a Bermuda High November style. This high is strong and stubborn, keeping us warm and windy for a few days. While we gust to 30 mph, we see that the peaks from California to Colorado and Wyoming have been measured 100 mph. As far east as Indiana we have gusts to 50 mph. This wind has to do with the temperature gradient created by 85 degree air in Texas and 20 degrees in Montana. The flow is fast and fairly flat across the USA, just a but of trough west and ridging east. But that subtle amplitude can change fast. This is a very challenging weather map and forecast. You have heard about the storms in the north Pacific and Alaska. But we also have the central pacific feed. San Diego had 1.5" of rain this weekend. Trying to track and time the feed off the North and Central Pacific and the interaction of the two streams in nearly impossible. The 7 day forecast is a rough estimate at best. We have warm fronts last night and tonight, then cold fronts tomorrow night, and Wednesday. It looks like a few period of showers and warm through Weds, then colder and dry Thursday into the weekend. Snow guns will come back on at the mountains Thursday and Friday as many areas will try and open next weekend. It will be close.
By Saturday Nov 19, The first Deep Arctic blast of the season will enter the Northwestern USA. That air wil try and spread south and east Thanksgiving week. But here in New England we will be warming next weekend. By Thanksgiving we will be on the edge of the Arctic air as another storm or two ride up the eastern part of the country. There will be some serious snwo in the USA Thanksgiving week, the early estimate is that we will be on the wet, not white, side of those storms. But it will be close. Also we have the New Moon Highest Tide of the Month Thanksgiving Midnight. Some flooding will be possible.
Out of time now, though so much more could be said...

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