An Indian summit summer

2012-11-11 18:04:07.000 – Stephen Lanciani,  Summit Intern

Friday’s scence will NOT be the case tomorrow!

Here on the summit, simply put, it is cold…usually. As a fall intern, I expected to see temperatures in the 40s and 50s in August and September, then in the teens and single digits more recently as we approach December. This has been mostly true, with a couple anomalous days in which we have been excessively warmer than normal; the type of day that tomorrow promises to be. Forecast highs for tomorrow are in the mid to upper 40s, almost double the average daily temperature of 22 degrees. This is certainly a special occurrence, so I am going to explain a little bit about why this can happen.

In tomorrow’s case, all of the right pieces will fall into place in order to give us such a warm day late in the year. The first piece is a strong warm front, branching out from a low pressure system over the central U.S. This front, which marks the boundary between two different air masses (in this case the warm air is pushing out the cold air), moved through today and has brought warmer air to the region. The second piece is shifting winds as we enter what is known as the “warm sector” of a low pressure system (between the warm front and cold front). In this warm sector, winds are generally from the southerly direction and cause warm air advection. This is when warmer air in the direction the wind is blowing from is carried into a region of cooler air, thus warming temperatures. In our case, winds will shift to the south and carry the warmer air into our area. The third piece is our good ol’ friend, Mr. Sun. A departing ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Maine will be strong enough to keep skies clear Monday, allowing plenty of the Sun’s radiation to reach the Earth and warm up the land and atmosphere. Will all of these factors coming together, tomorrow promises to be a beautiful day and a sure treat to the summit as well as much of the Northeast. Now, I am a little bummed about missing out on the 60 degree temperatures in the valleys, but I will never complain about a mid to upper 40s day on the summit in November. Heck, we may as well call it summer up here! After weeks of fog, ice, snow, and temperatures in the teens, a day of 40s and sunshine can’t be beat!

With all of the above being said, make sure to get out and enjoy the weather tomorrow, but please read our forecast HERE if you plan on going for a hike (just in case conditions change in the next 12 hours or so)! For many it is a day off from work because of Veteran’s Day today which leads me to my closing statement: Thank you to all of our service men and women who have put their lives on the line for our safety and freedom. Your courage and dedication is always appreciated.

Stephen Lanciani,  Summit Intern