Return of rain and cooler temperatures
After a brief glimpse of summer, cooler temperatures return today and remain the rest of the week. Freezing rain tonight may turn to snow early tomorrow morning, although there will be little accumulation. Skies will clear up Wednesday afternoon and remain mostly sunny the rest of the week.
Summer arrives at last — just kidding
After a terrible weekend of floods and ice pellets, summer has arrived! Expect temperatures in the high 70s°F and unabated sunshine.
Winter lingering except for a few nicer days
After a tantalizing glimpse of spring last weekend, cold weather returned to New England. Expect it to warm up into the high 40s Wednesday through Friday, then rain and snow again over the weekend. Unfortunately, the 10-day model runs do not make next week look any more promising, so try to get some sun before it cools down again!
More snow, then warmer weather this week
Last weekend, areas just outside of Boston received as much as a foot of snow. Since then, temperatures have remained below freezing, allowing plowed snow to accumulate in snowbanks and along roadsides. This week, much of that snow should melt. This afternoon and tonight Cambridge will experience one more snowstorm — the same one that has already caused thundersnow and ice throughout the Midwest. However, tomorrow the temperatures will rise into the 40s and remain above freezing for the rest of the week, with rain showers on Wednesday afternoon and Friday.
Potentially huge snowstorm unlikely
If you have been reading weather articles this week, you might have seen some alarming possibilities for a major Nor’easter this Sunday. Two low pressure systems might have collided and moved up the coast of the Eastern US, picking up moisture from the ocean and blanketing populations centers with more snow. Fortunately, updated model outputs suggest that the more southern system will track harmlessly into the Atlantic ocean, leaving only a weaker low pressure system that may bring snow showers on Sunday. Until then, the daily high and low temperatures in Cambridge will be around 10 degrees F colder than usual, so bundle up!
Temperatures above average in Cambridge
Over the past few days, temperatures more than 10 degrees higher than average melted most of the snow remaining from the last storm. The daily average for this week in Cambridge is normally below freezing (32°F), but we have barely dipped below freezing even at night since last week. Expect warmer weather to persist through Friday before a return to normal temperatures this weekend.
Cold and dry weekend ahead for Cambridge
Unusually cold temperatures will remain in Cambridge over the next week. A high pressure system brings with it clear skies. The days will be sunny but the mornings will be cold because of high levels of radiative cooling at night.
Another sunny week
High pressure remains over Cambridge, bringing with it another week of pleasant weather. High temperatures this week will be around 10 degrees higher than average for early October. Sunny skies will prevail, with no precipitation likely through Saturday.
Fall weather envelopes New England
Fall semester has arrived and with it autumn weather. The overnight lows are dipping below 60°F, resulting in chilly mornings perfect for intense outdoor exercise. Daytime high temperatures will remain in the 70s°F for the next few days, with partly cloudy skies but no significant precipitation expected. Elsewhere in the Northeast, areas of MA, NY, VT, NH, and ME expected their first frost and freeze warnings this morning.
Unsettled weather this weekend
Today should be mostly clear and warm, with a high temperature near 80°F — time to install air conditioning! After today, the air will remain humid as the weather takes a turn for the worse. Expect rain showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, ahead of a cold front that will move in Saturday night. Sunday will be cooler and cloudy, with some rain possible. Such weather is not confined to New England; forecasts predict precipitation in 47 of the continental U.S. states in the next 36 hours.
Gorgeous week to come
High pressure controls New England this week, bringing lovely weather. In a high pressure system, air descends from above; since the cold air high in the atmosphere cannot hold very much water vapor, this descending air is dry and causes clear, sunny conditions. Due to the lack of clouds, the surface radiatively cools very efficiently at night, leading to cool mornings and a large diurnal temperature gradient. Low pressure systems have the opposite effect; moist surface air convects upwards, condensing and forming clouds at the altitude where the temperature is too low to hold excess water vapor. At least for this week, we shouldn’t see those sorts of clouds!
Spring not here yet
After some spring-like weather earlier this week, temperatures have cooled down and will remain slightly below average for the foreseeable future. While in the past Boston has recorded highs in March above 70°F, the mean high temperature is 46°F. This weekend will bring temperatures around freezing, with scattered clouds and chances of precipitation.
National Severe Weather Preparedness Week
NOAA and FEMA mark National Severe Weather Preparedness Week from March 3 to March 9. Prepare an emergency supply kit, sign up for severe weather alerts, and share warnings and plans with your peers; it could save your life! Primary threats in Massachusetts include floods, severe thunderstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, and tornadoes. For more information, visit the National Weather Service website.
More winter weather approaching
A few days of relative warmth and sun started melting the snow that piled up from last weekend’s blizzard. However, winter weather will return by the end of this weekend, with light snowfall possible on Saturday and an Arctic air mass moving in on Saturday night. On Saturday, expect temperatures around freezing, with cloudy skies and a chance of rain and snow in the afternoon and evening. Sunday and Monday will bring crisp, clear mornings with windchill in the single digits. Only 14 more days until meteorological spring begins!
Cold weather to warm next week
A series of unsettled weather will move through New England this weekend, bringing alternating periods of precipitation and warmth. Today and tomorrow will remain cold; however, expect temperatures to warm up by early next week.
Return to seasonal temperatures
After a lovely weekend more reminiscent of September than late fall, temperatures in Cambridge will cool down after a cold front passes through this morning. For the rest of the week, high pressure will dominate, bringing mostly clear skies and temperatures in the 35-45°F range.
Hurricane Sandy strikes East Coast
The largest Atlantic hurricane in over 25 years made landfall on the New Jersey coast on Monday evening. High winds from Sandy have downed power lines and trees over a vast expanse of the U.S., from Florida all the way to Maine. Blizzard warnings are in effect over parts of the Appalachians, where a cold Arctic air mass clashed with the moisture-laden air rotated counter-clockwise from the Atlantic Ocean. Peak tide levels and coastal flooding may overtop that observed in New York during Hurricane Irene last year.
Gorgeous fall weather in the week ahead
The next few days in Cambridge will display lovely fall weather, with clear skies and temperatures mainly in the 50°s F. Autumn foliage is in full color, so be sure to look outside. This weekend will bring another low pressure system through the area with its corresponding precipitation and wind, but models so far show a quick passage; most likely for at least part of the weekend it will not rain.
Cool, wet weather approaching this weekend
As a low pressure system moves over the region, Cambridge will experience damp, cloudy conditions with intermittent precipitation. Temperatures will remain seasonable, with highs in the 60°s for the next several days.
Pleasant weekend to follow pleasant week
This week brought a reprieve from last week’s rain, with clear skies and temperatures in the upper 70°F. Over this weekend, temperatures will become slightly cooler, but the sunny weather should remain.
Pattern of rainy weekdays, nice weekends to continue
After letting up for a warm, sunny weekend, rain will return to Cambridge today and tomorrow. While unfortunate for those who wish to enjoy the outdoors, the rain should help ease the drought conditions that plague part of every state on the Atlantic seaboard. Drought combined with record high temperatures are also taking a toll on the Southwest, where wildfires have already forced evacuations in Arizona, and many other regions sit at high fire risk.
Cool, clear weather this weekend; tornado threat in South will remain low
In comparison to this winter’s record warmth, the seasonable temperatures in the Cambridge area this weekend might feel quite cool. Cold and wet air behind a departing low pressure system will give rise to breezy, mostly clear skies with highs in the low 50’s F and lows dropping almost to freezing.
Nine triathletes compete at Nationals in Ala.
This past weekend, five men and four women from the MIT Triathlon Club competed at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Members raced against 1,200 graduate and undergraduate triathletes from over 100 schools across the nation in an Olympic distance triathlon, which consists of a 1500-meter swim followed by a 25-mile bike and a 6.2-mile run. The entire event takes between two and three hours to complete, with the fastest elite males finishing in just under two hours.
Seasonable in Cambridge; severe weather in the South
In Cambridge, expect mostly clear skies with seasonable temperatures for today and tomorrow as a high pressure system dominates the region. Starting on Sunday, moisture from distance ocean storms may result in clouds and slight precipitation.
Unseasonably warm weather will continue
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center just confirmed that the past winter was the fourth warmest on record in the mainland United States; it certainly felt like it in Cambridge! A variety of factors combined to set the stage for this warmth, including La Niña conditions in the Pacific, positive phases in the North Atlantic Oscillation, and potentially Earth’s upward trend in global average temperatures (although one must be careful not to confuse climate — which is defined as the long-run average of weather — with weather, which consists of short-scale variations).
Unusual warm spell to continue
With sports stores already advertising their “end-of-season” sales and cyclists comfortably riding outdoors, it seems that Cambridge completely skipped over the snowy winter season that normally clogs up its roads and sidewalks. Next time you complain about how “freezing” it feels outside, reconsider, since many days have been 10 to 15 degrees above average thus far this year. For the upcoming week, expect warm air to bring with it increased moisture and a chance of rain.
Winter wallops west; Cambridge avoids the worst wild weather
The unusual dry spell that defined this winter for most of the continental U.S. broke last week as the Jet Stream resumed its more typical pattern. Heavy precipitation poured throughout the West and parts of New England, delighting skiers but resulting in slick roads and avalanches in mountainous areas.
Return to seasonal temps
While the usual temperature range in Cambridge for this time of year is between 31°F and 45°F, yesterday we saw highs over 60°F, and today will reach a similar high. However, with a low pressure system moving over the region, precipitation will increase and temperatures will drop closer to average over the next few days.
Pleasant November weekend in Cambridge
The recent rain should move away for the weekend as a high pressure system takes hold of New England. Temperatures will gradually increase from Friday until Sunday, creating a pleasant mid-November weekend. Though it is too far away to predict with good certainty, it looks as though clear weather should dominate for much of Thanksgiving break as well.
Sunny weather may wake you from extra hour of sleep
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Northeast remain without electricity after an early Nor’Easter dumped heavy snow that downed trees and power lines on Sept. 29. Thankfully, temperatures have increased and no further precipitation is expected for the next few days. This should help enable utility crews to restore power lines as well as keep people without emergency generators from suffering too much from cold.
Triathlon ends season strong
The MIT Triathlon club recently ended its racing season after an impressive 2011 outing. The team won a local race series, qualified the female and male teams for the 2012 Collegiate Nationals Championships, and fielded a number of MIT triathletes in races across New England.
Pattern of beautiful weekends and rainy midweeks to continue
Fall has arrived in full force in Cambridge, accompanied by its variable sometimes-gorgeous and sometimes-miserable weather. After two beautiful weekends in a row, it looks as though we will continue the pattern of midweek rain and clouds on Wednesday to Thursday and then go on to have yet another sunny and pleasant weekend.
Apple-picking season here; winter, not yet
The next few days look to be warm, humid, and rainy, with a crisp fall cold front moving through toward the end of the week. Along with autumn’s arrival comes the advent of apple-picking season; look for dorm and FSILG trips to nearby orchards in the near future!
Rain, rain, going away … for now
Here in Cambridge, everyone is griping about the miserable rain that dampened the first week of classes. However, we escaped the worst of the deluge that continues to cause unprecedented flooding throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and much of the interior Northeast.
Summer in Boston; floods and droughts elsewhere
After a hot Fourth of July that allowed hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch fireworks along the Charles River without fear of rain or cold, it looks as though summer has arrived in full force in Boston. Even with a cold front passing through the region on Wednesday night, daytime temperatures should not drop below the 70s.
Historic flooding along the Mississippi
To add to the torrent of tragic and destructive weather that has afflicted the southern half of the country over the past few weeks, the Mississippi River now is flooding. Affecting thousands of people spanning the corridor from Illinois to Louisiana, the river continues to swell due to unceasing rain and upstream snowmelt. In order to protect populated areas, Army engineers already destroyed some levees downstream to release excess water, immersing vast expanses of farmland.
Pleasant week ahead, temperature set to rise
The huge snow pile on Briggs Field has started to melt and sports practices have moved outside, but if you just came back from somewhere tropical you might have noticed that Boston weather remains a bit chilly. Temperatures will linger below the springtime average but gradually increase over the next few days. A stationary high pressure system will keep the sun shining and the clouds at bay at least through Thursday. Get outdoors during the week if you can because a significant rainstorm may head our direction over the weekend.
No summer in sight; cold spring in store
After a week of relatively clear weather, the clouds will return this afternoon and will stick around at least through the weekend. Temperatures should rise into the 40s, which will feel balmy compared to yesterday and this morning. Don’t get too used to it, though — long-range forecasts are predicting a much colder spring than we had last year.