World and Nation

Warm Weather on Hold for Now

Warm Weather on Hold for Now

The calendar says it’s spring and the sun is high in the sky, so why you say are 30s°F and 40s F in the forecast? No it’s (probably) not some cruel weather modification prank for campus preview weekend, but instead an inescapable characteristic of spring-time in coastal southern New England. After a long winter, water temperatures near Boston are still only in the upper 30s F (water has a high heat capacity). High pressure areas to our north (with clockwise wind circulation) or low pressure areas to our south (vice-versa) can both orient wind from the Atlantic which subsequently cools down all of New England. The latter is expected for this weekend, the low pressure also bringing rain and leaving the first two Sox-Yanks games in doubt.

In addition, a quick warm-up is not expected when fair weather returns early next week. There will be cool air from Canada and the Atlantic left over and even when that moderates we will still have to deal with a local sea breeze circulation, as was discussed in Tuesday’s issue. To reiterate, this is wind off the water due to local pressure differences created when land is warmed by the sun adjacent to a cool body of water. Often a local meteorologist will promise a warm sunny day in April only to see a sea breeze knock the temperatures down to the low 50s F right near the coast, as was the case earlier this week. Although the weekend will be cool and wet and early next week cool and dry, there is hope for a pattern shift later next week to really start warming us up for the first time since last October. Fingers crossed until then.

Tonight: Rain. Low 41 F (5 C).

Tomorrow: Periods of rain continue, diminishing in the afternoon. High 48 F (9 C).

Sunday: Cloudy, showers possible. High 47 F (8 C).

Monday: Mostly cloudy. High 44 F (7°C).