Increments of Snow

The harsh reality for most in North America is that the groundhog is almost always wrong when he predicts an early spring, as he did on groundhog day this year. The continent’s prevailing (north)westerlies mean that the air tends to stream in from Canada. And in most of Canada there is no spring to speak of. Off of most of the Eastern Seaboard the ocean water is nearing its coldest point of the season. It is now 38F (3C) at the Boston harbor buoy. That temperature will likely go down between now and the middle of March as the most persistent Arctic air intrusion is underway. This increases the chances of snowfall when lows ride up the coast.

Fluffy, `cold’ snow (less dense and water-laden) fell overnight, with a little more expected this weekend and much more next week. It’s as dormant outside as at any time this winter, with the only reminder that warmer times lie ahead being the increasing sunlight hours and the chatter of sparrows.

DTN weather provided this map depicting what the next 10 days will be like. Notice where the lobe of polar air is mainly focused on, the Northern Plains where they’ve already recorded the second coldest February on record. For this part of the country March may be a repeat of February.  Of course it’s no surprise that it’s warm in Southern Florida and Mexico.

 

Winter’s Comeback, Sort Of

Winter’s not departing peacefully as several minor snowstorms have blanketed the city this week. And, apparently winter will be back in business by the end of next week as the month of March looks to begin with a lion’s roar.

But signs of spring are around, too. The first red-winged blackbirds made their presence known today. Males migrate south in late August before females, and are also first to arrive north in late February. This makes it all the more curious why the males are so loud upon arrival. Listen to their calls in the video clip below and then imagine the sounds being twice as loud. Clearly they’re not mating calls with no females around. Maybe they’re saying “why the heck did we come here, it’s so darn cold? … wish we were back in Mexico.” Without actually knowing why they’re chirping so loudly, I’m going to guess that it’s their way of announcing to others that they’re back and looking for food.

George Washington’s statue was covered in snow and freezing rain this morning.

Late this afternoon the sun was out and it got to 53 degrees. The snow had mostly melted along the banks of the Charles where this male red-winged blackbird was feasting on something.

 

Wimpy Winter

It’s been a wimpy winter. Has not packed a punch. No drama. Sure, some very cold days. But only a minuscule amount of snow. When cities like Paris, Washington DC, and Seattle are beating Boston badly at the snow totals game, you know something’s amiss. What’s responsible for this dull winter? So-called persistent ridging of high pressure to our south and east. What this means is that it can get dry and cold when high pressure is just to our north and west. But then during winters like this the area of high pressure invariably sinks southward, almost vertically which prevents low pressure areas from coming up the coast. Instead low pressure areas are forced just west of Boston. This in turn draws in sometimes very mild air and produces rain or a changeover from a burst of snow to rain (which is happening today). Of course, Boston’s winters tend to be long no matter what. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see a change in the pattern, in time for `spring.’ Boston could then get plenty of snow in late February, March, and maybe even April.

This young squirrel – same one pictured in a previous post – loves the cold and snow. He’s too young to recall what a real winter is like in Boston. But he takes advantage of every chance he gets to frolic in the snow and `skate’ across the ice on the lagoon. I recognize him by the tail that has a kink in it (maybe from a fight).

Arthur Fiedler looks good in any season: