20 January 2014

Another phrase to be tired of...

...would be 'polar vortex', and John Bolaris has an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer about the phenomenon:
The source of the upcoming polar invasion originates from the Arctic Archipelago, 36,563 islands north of the Canadian mainland. The total population of these islands is only fourteen thousand, pretty much because it's just too freaking cold!
As the polar vortex migrates south toward Hudson's Bay in Canada, some of this super cold air will be transported from the Arctic Archipelago across the northeastern United States; Mother Nature's version of an Arctic smackdown.
The arrival of the polar plunge will start on Tuesday as temperatures fall through the twenties and bottom out into the single digits by Wednesday morning.  Wind chill factors will once again drop to sub-zero levels late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Also on Tuesday, a storm system will take shape just off the coast, which should allow for a light accumulation of snow in Philadelphia, probably an inch or two. A band of significant snow could form across southeast New Jersey, however, especially coastal Cape May and Delaware, south of Wilmington. Moderate potential (fifty to sixty percent) of two-to-four-plus inches across this area as it stands now. Will fine-tune the forecast when more data comes in.
Temperatures on Wednesday will struggle to crack twenty degrees, with our suburbs across the north and west remaining in the teens.
On Thursday, another piece of the polar vortex will send another energy wave and with it some light snow and/or flurries, but nothing major. For Thursday, I'm forecasting a low-level threat of accumulating snow of thirty percent.
On Friday morning, biting cold wind chill levels of sub-zero will return with daytime highs in the twenties.
The weekend is looking dry with temperatures moderating into the thirties.
The next storm threat potential would be on Monday, 27 January, with models hinting at coastal development. The NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) is leaning positive, which usually suggests the blocking pattern has weakened allowing for storms to escape more easterly, with the higher threats for coastal New England.
I will be looking into your Super Bowl forecast this week. As of now, it's a very wide computer spread, with one model suggesting a major storm to swing through the Northeast that weekend, while other ensemble members keeping the weekend storm-free. Too early to call. 
Rico says it's not just the stupid phrase, of course, but the whole 'winter' thing that he's tired of...

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