Taste of spring fades away
Boston enjoyed a treat over the past several days as extremely anomalous high temperatures in the 70s overspread the Northeast. Many towns across the Northeast set record highs on Wednesday as temperatures soared in many areas into the mid and upper 70s during the afternoon. Boston reached 70 °F (21 °C) on Tuesday and 72 °F (22 °C) on Wednesday, the 3rd and 2nd warmest February days on record. These are the first 2 70+ °F days in the same February on record (the only other 70+ °F February days on record were in 2017 and 1985). The average temperatures for Boston on Feb. 22 are a high of 40 °F and a low of 26 °F, highlighting how truly anomalous the recent warmth was. Today features starkly different weather. As a cold front pushes across the eastern United States, a weak low pressure system is sliding rapidly through southern New England bringing light rain and snow showers to the Boston area. Meanwhile, the high pressure, located off the southeast US coast, that facilitated the recent warmth will persist and prevent any significant cold outbreaks during the next several days. Temperatures will return to average to slightly above average over the next few days, with highs in the 40s and 50s °F and lows in the mid to upper 30s. Analyzing the winter as a whole, before the recent warmth the quick-hitting snowstorm last Saturday night brought 5.6 inches (14.2 cm) of snow to Boston, keeping the city on pace for an average to slightly above average snow season. Boston has received 34.8 inches of snow so far this winter (normal is 31 inches). Last year at this time, Boston had received 36.3 inches of snow.