News weather

It must be winter - first snow in Cambridge, last hurricane in Caribbean

The first flakes of snow fell over Cambridge on Sunday night, marking the unofficial start of the winter season in many people’s minds. It will not get quite cold enough for snow for Boston over Thanksgiving but parts of the midwest and northeast United States have a snowy holiday weekend ahead. In Boston, high winds from the northwest will be replaced by more docile southeastern winds at the end of the week, perhaps abating the bitterness of the dropping temperatures. Over the week, a warm front will push out the current high pressure system sitting over the northeast, bringing rain and cloudy skies.

Meanwhile out in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Otto brews. Otto is currently stationary over very warm water and will likely be labeled a hurricane by the time it hits Central America late Wednesday night. The end of November marks the end of the Atlantic hurricane season, so it is likely that Otto will be the final storm we see until next May. The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season boasted 15 named hurricanes and was the costliest season since 2012, thanks in large part to Hurricane Matthew’s path up the southeastern seaboard.