Wintry Weather Ahead!

2016-02-06 00:35:31.000 – Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist

It’s been a warm but also stormy start to the month of February across the high peaks of New England, with three out of the first four days of the month seeing above freezing temperatures. We also saw winds gust up to 125 mph on the 1^st, with sustained wind speeds of over 100 mph for over an hour.

Wednesday was an especially interesting weather scenario for Mount Washington, with a strong warm front causing temperatures to surge to near-record territory in the mid-30s overnight after starting out only in the lower teens during the morning. Very strong and gusty southerly winds along with thick fog quickly made a big dent in the snowpack, with plenty of standing water and slush on my way out to grab the precipitation can at midnight.

Despite the forecast of Mr. Phil the groundhog, colder air looks to make an extended stay across northern New England for much of the next week ahead, with a few chances for snowfall. Saturday night and into Sunday morning a cold front will cross from the northwest, with upslope snow showers and the summits likely picking up 1-3 inches of snowfall. Monday looks to be the one completely dry day across the White Mountains, with weak high pressure allowing for fog free conditions and at least some sunshine.

Tuesday a more significant storm system is possible, with low pressure moving through the Ohio River valley before redeveloping off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Although the storm is several days away and things could change, temperatures will be cold enough for all snow in New Hampshire. Not every model has a significant storm for New England, however, and for now we’ll just have to wait and see how the models handle the development of the storm across the western U.S in the next few days. Either way, much more winter like conditions are returning to the mountains of New England, and I’m hoping for plenty of snow!

Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist