We will experience the strongest wind gusts tonight and tomorrow since tropical storm Irene hit Connecticut on August 27th, 2011. The atmosphere is set up perfectly for a tight pressure gradient from a departing low and strong high pressure area moving in. As the low pressure deepens to our north and strengths there will be wind gusts of 50-60 mph or more at times. Example: When walking through the caverns of skyscrapers in New York City don’t you notice the high wind squeezed between the building? Same analogy with the high and low pressure areas. The closer the high and low pressure areas are together, the stronger the “pressure gradient”, and the stronger the winds. On weather maps, lines of constant pressure are drawn which are called “isobars”. These isobars are usually labeled with their pressure value in millibars.

Picture taken tonight in West Hartford at 5:49pm
This year’s February presents the biggest full moon super moon of 2019. From around the world, the moon will look plenty full to the eye on both February 18 and February 19 as it parades across the nighttime sky. It reaches the crest of its full phase on February 19 for much of the world. What’s a supermoon? It’s a popularized term for what astronomers call a perigean full moon. In other words, it’s a full moon near perigee, or closest to Earth for this month. This February 2019 full moon reaches its exact full phase closer to the time of perigee than any other full moon this year. Hence the year’s closest super moon.

The analomy of an arctic air front from the top of our world has a new catch phrase named “Polar Vortex”. A few winters ago meteorologists recalled an arctic invasion to the northern portions of the United States with a stylish name and it has stuck like a hockey puck in a goaltenders big glove. Yes, after the real feel of frigid air this week with sub zero temperatures another one has eyes on the northern mid-west to New England early next week. The brunt of this latest cold invasion will be felt throughout the Great Lakes region with New England standing on the eastern periphery, meaning temperatures will be 0-10 above zero in the morning instead of 10-20 below. But there’s something to consider being on the edge of this cold air mass, the storm track will be very closeby where cold fronts end and warm air masses merge. Keep shovels nearby and snowblowers primed.

It’s 2 short days before Christmas and we have already past the winter solstice on Friday making each day slowly getting a bit longer but the days will still get progressively colder for the next month. Christmas Eve may have a light covering of snow in the morning especially in northern Connecticut and the Litchfield hills. Just a nuisance event if any. The weather pattern looks to be in for change and very active after the New Year as the Polar Vortex will weaken some but in a position to open the arctic express to plunge southward over the eastern half of the United States. If the jet stream is able to reach far south enough it has a chance to gather Gulf of Mexico moisture and bring this moisture northward up the Atlantic coast. We will have several opportunities for significant snow through February. Stay tuned.
Happy Holidays from WeatherEast.

So here it goes…Clouds will thicken and lower on Monday Christmas Eve morning with snow breaking out by noon, becoming heavy at times in the afternoon. Our Connecticut landscape will be quickly covered in a mantle of new fresh snow by late Christmas Eve evening. Clearing skies and a full moon will make for a winter wonderland adorning the land. The moon will peak through the departing storm clouds giving all us a chance to see a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer using the bright night orb as a backdrop. We will awaken Christmas morning to a Christmas Card greeting through our frosted windows.
It may be a “fake forecast” but in our dreams it is so real. Perfect.

That surely would be a welcoming sound today as we endure another wintry day. Old Man Winter is doing his best in delivering a smorgasbord of winter elements. Snow to sleet to freezing rain from a sky that resembles a pallet of natural grays from Benjamin Moore. Also the air encompassing us has a penetrating chill to our core that is not easy to take even with a cup of hot tea. After checking and rechecking models going out to April has us in this same pattern of mixed precipitation followed by a few days of cold and then a warming trend for a couple days. This merry-go-round of changeable weather will likely not have the right ingredients for a full fledge Nor’Easter as approaching storms will have too much warm air on its eastern flank to produce an all snow event. No big warm ups, no sustained cold or arctic outbreaks but lots of precipitation and raw conditions.
Major League Baseballs opening day in 50 days may have several postponements as the northern states may have a difficult time in warming up a starting pitcher.

The Hartford Courant on January 8th, published a wonderful column by Gregory B Hladky about the Snowy Owl migration to Connecticut. Make no mistake about it when you see one you will know it by their haunting presence. The increase sitings are cyclical and are likely caused by successful breeding seasons in the Arctic. Many of the ones we see here are young raptors that have been chased out off traditional hunting grounds by adults and flown south to find open areas to hunt in peace according to researchers. These long distance travelers trek more than a thousand miles from northern Canada and wihin the Arctic Circle. Recent sitings has been mostly confined to our shoreline marshes, but there have been several sitings in central and northern Connecticut.
It’s worth emphasizing that there are “The Basics Rules” that the majestic, aloof and distinctive Snowy Owls observers are expected to follow (from Project SnowStorm):
Keep your distance
Respect private property
Don’t feed an owl, ever

Word is out that the snow blitz will run over us before the sun rises tomorrow. This area of low pressure will have a frightening look to it on a weatherman’s plotting computer screen. Barometric pressure will bottom out at 950 millibars which equates to 28.05 inches mercury, lower than super storm Sandy in 2012. The positive aspect of this storm is the lowest pressure area will track further off the coast than Sandy. If you have a well calibrated home barometer take look at how low your reading is early afternoon tomorrow when the storm is at its closest. Latest reliable computer models has the storm wobbling slightly more west closer to our coastline. So, wind blown snow will virtually be impossible to measure because of its fluff value and 30-40 mile per hour winds with gusts over 50. As snow bands set up there will varying intensities of snow, but will lighten up by afternoon as the storm pulls away to our northeast. This storm has the characteristics of hurricane without the warm inner core, but its tight wind gradient will create hurricane force winds near the Cape and Islands.
Yes, we may call it a BLIZZ-a-CANE.

To add insult to this bitter cold snap, a major east coast storm will be tracking up the eastern seaboard Thursday with severe wind and heavy snow. Right now Scenario #2 has the storm moving out to sea to our east with little or no impact for us, maybe just wind. Scenario #1 has the storm hugging the east coast with blizzard conditions for New England. Or scenario #3 would be a deepening low straddling between the two tracks shown with a few inches of wind driven snow for several hours. It’s too early to predict which track this potent storm will take but it should be monitored very carefully. No matter what track the storm takes another blast of sustained bitter cold will move back in after the storm passes us with gusty northwest winds that will dive wind chills to frightening lows. Stay tuned.

Another winter hike this morning brought me to a barren quarry on the New Britain/Plainville line as I headed for Pinnacle Mountain and The Metacomet Trail. As I approached this abandoned crater looking like a true moonscape the cold penetrated deeply with a feeling of isolation with my feet planted in the snow looking for any signs of life nearby. Only tracks from coyotes and bob cats were in stride with my human footprints. I’m sure they were checking me from a safe haven.
This current cold snap will continue for another ten days rivaling the one we had in December 1989 when the temperature averaged 10 degrees below normal for the month. Actually there was a 20 day period of below freezing temperatures from December 11th-31st. The following January was almost 10 degrees above normal. Mother Nature always has a way to balance things out.