12z GFS 12/2 90 hr 500mb fcst

The air is much, much colder outside today, if you haven't already noticed. I suppose most people probably have been forced to by now, especially if you've been outside for an extended period of time. The cold front that crossed the area yesterday ushered in one of the coldest airmasses thus far this cold season. With it comes the development of a large mid and upper level trough (or vortex) over the northeast United States. Pieces of energy from the pacific jet stream will continue to slide eastward across the western and central states, but will ultimately be absorbed into this vortex as it spins around in the northeast. What does this mean for us? Well, aside from continued cold and dry weather, it means mainly fair weather with low chances of precipitation. Snow and rain showers (most likely snow given the expected temperatures) could make a rare appearances on certain days. Overall, it will feel very wintry for the next several days, with the absence of snow the only thing keeping it from feeling like the heart of winter itself. So bundle up, and stay warm. Featured image: GFS Model Forecast for 90 hours from 12z today (December 2nd, 2010) showing the large upper level trough/upper level low dominating our weather pattern.

The Forecast

Rest of Today (Thursday): Much cooler, and partly sunny. Afternoon highs in the low 40's at most, upper 30's in inland and elevated locations. Winds northwest at 8 to 14 miles per hour.

Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy, with low temperatures in the mid 30's. Winds still out of the northwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour.

Friday: Becoming partly to mostly sunny, with daytime high temperatures in the low 40's. Winds out of the northwest around 10 miles per hour.

Article by John Homenuk. 1:27pm December 2nd, 2010. Need more? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the upcoming weekend, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.