Monday, February 3, 2014

Current Conditions:
Temperature: 9°F
Feels Like: 9°F
Wind:  South Southwest @ 2 mph
Humidity: 77%
Pressure: 1026.8 mb é

This was a somewhat difficult post! Something screwy is going on with the weather websites today. I experienced a difference of 18°F in some places from -9°F to 9°F. The "Feels Like" sections followed suit as well. As far as the weather goes, we have a high pressure system moving in! Partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures are in the forecast for today. No precipitation is expected in in the extended forecast, currently. Finally, a cold snap is expected to hit and linger for a few days, leading into this upcoming weekend. Temperatures will be dropping into the single digits. Below are a number of maps that illustrate what is currently going on in the country for weather patterns. 

This is a typical pressure map of North America. We can see a high pressure system moving through the South currently, along with a stationary front hovering over the Rockies. One thing to take notice of is the break in the high pressure front in the east. Those low pressure areas are experiencing a very large snowstorm, as illustrated immediately north of that position. 

This is a Unisys map that illustrates information from 250 hPa, the preferred altitude for examining the Polar Jet Stream in the winter months. We can see moderate wind speeds where the Jet Stream is tracking currently, along with high velocity winds in the New England area. These higher wind speeds correlate with the storms that are currently moving through the area. 

This is a map from Accuweather that does a great job illustrating the current impact of the storm that is moving towards the New England area. I really like the "Start Times" portion that shows when the storm is expected to impact certain areas. As we can see, the storm is caused by a low pressure system moving towards the northeast. As the latitudes increase, the temperatures decrease, and we gradually see a changing the form of precipitation.

This is a map from the NOAA Geostationary Satellite Server, or GOES, which shows the current concentrations of water vapor in the eastern portions of North America and out into the Atlantic. There is a very dry portion located in the Southern United States with an abrupt change that shows the location of the storm in the New England area and out into the Pacific.