NEwxguy's WunderBlog

Ramblings on a cloudy Wednesday morning

Posted by: NEwxguy, 2:11 PM GMT on March 28, 2012

My last day at work this week,before a couple of days off to do my room makeover at the house.

Different things crossing my mind this morning.
1.Weather in New England is ever changing. Wednesday last week,I wasn't running my heat,windows open going home in the afternoon,windows open around the house,and enjoying the warm air.Now back to a winter coat.Heat on in the house,hat and gloves walking Prince in the evening.It was nice while it lasted.
2.One more week and the Redsox open in Detroit,and the long season of baseball is underway.I have no excitement about my team,still stinging from their historic collapse last season.
3.Our hockey team is gearing up for the playoffs,with their third win in a row last night.
4. Watching the demontstrators down in Washingto as the Supreme Court hears arguments against the government mandated insurance program.Demonstrators on both sides.I started thinking,don't these people have lives?I've often wanted to go and make my opinion felt for different subjects,but my life is too busy to just run off and demonstrate.I applaud them for demonstrating,thats whats great about this country is you can protest,but where do they find the time?
5. Don't know if anyones been paying attention to the skies in the evening this week,but the small crescent moon has been dancing with Venus and Jupiter.Each night there is a different arrangement.Kind of a nice threesome.
Anyway,will check in from time to time before I leave for my working vacation.
Hope everyone has an enjoyable day.

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Red Flag Warning

Posted by: NEwxguy, 12:45 PM GMT on March 27, 2012

...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT TUESDAY FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN
NEW ENGLAND...

.EXTREMELY DRY AIR COMBINED WITH GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS AND LITTLE
RAINFALL OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE
WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING TUESDAY.

MAZ002>024-026-RIZ001>007-271615-
/O.EXT.KBOX.FW.W.0002.120327T1400Z-120327T2300Z/
WESTERN FRANKLIN MA-EASTERN FRANKLIN MA-NORTHERN WORCESTER MA-
CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA-WESTERN ESSEX MA-EASTERN ESSEX MA-
WESTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-
EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-
SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-
NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
SOUTHERN BRISTOL MA-SOUTHERN PLYMOUTH MA-BARNSTABLE MA-DUKES MA-
NANTUCKET MA-NORTHERN MIDDLESEX MA-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI-
SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-WESTERN KENT RI-EASTERN KENT RI-
BRISTOL RI-WASHINGTON RI-NEWPORT RI-
404 AM EDT TUE MAR 27 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM
EDT THIS EVENING FOR MASSACHUSETTS AND ALL OF RHODE ISLAND EXCEPT
BLOCK ISLAND...

* AFFECTED AREA...ALL OF MASSACHUSETTS AND ALL OF RHODE
ISLAND...EXCEPT FOR BLOCK ISLAND.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

* TIMING...LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 13 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE MID 30S.

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Hard freeze

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:41 PM GMT on March 26, 2012

After that long summer weather stretch,you just knew it was going back the other way.Mother Nature does correct itself at some point.Cold front just passed with strong wind gusts,still somewhat mild,but temps will start to drop this afternoon. and tonight teens and 20's with wind chills in the single digits.Fruit trees are definitely at risk as the blossoms have broken out in most areas.The real cold weather won't stay around long,but no 60's or 70's in the near future.

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back to normal

Posted by: NEwxguy, 5:52 PM GMT on March 24, 2012

So our extrodinary warm spell is over and we probably won't see anything like that until well into April,but then since last year,extremes are the new normal.So who knows what spring and summer will bring.
cloudy and cool here today,with showers on their way.

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cool down

Posted by: NEwxguy, 3:22 PM GMT on March 23, 2012

80 degrees yesterday records were smashed everywhere,but front moved through last night,only in the 70's today,I think we can deal with that,much cooler over the weekend.I'm oncall so don't care.
Strange weather pattern continues through the week,but the warmer weather stays to our south,Chilly,and possible showers on Sunday,windy and cold on Tuesday,other than that still running above normal temps,but nothing like last week.Walking the dog in my short sleeves last night was nice,sure would be nice to continue,but its too early.I was sneezing alot yesterday,pollen season has an early start.
Red Flag warning up for some areas north of us,especially New Hampshire.

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One more day of summer.

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:32 PM GMT on March 22, 2012

Went to work this morning short sleeves and not jacket, a little cool,but still unreal for this time of year.Some years I'm still wearing my winter coat this time of year.Cold front tonight,still mild tomorrow in the 60's,but then back to normal on the weekend with possible cold rain on Sunday.
This was an amazing stretch of weather.Certainly this will be a March that should go into the record books.
Crazy day in the NFL yesterday,Commissioner lowered the boom on New Orleans. The Saints have nobody to blame but themselves.I'm sure similar stuff goes on on other teams,but when you know your being investigated,don't you stop what your doing?And you just keep lying to his face?Sorry,but no sympathy here.
And Tebow going to the jets?Another addition to the circus down there?Don't make any sense to me,but then that team is a mess right now,so does it really matter.

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Im back,summer weather,home remodeling,etc.

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:22 PM GMT on March 21, 2012

Well,it wasn't a restful vacation,but mentally it was a nice 5 days off.I didn't get as much done as I hoped,because some of my help couldn't make it this weekend,but I did get my family room walls torn down,and next up is the ceiling which I will do next week when I take Thurs. and Fri. off.As with remodeling,things are upside down for a while.
Couldn't have asked for better weather while I was off.This has been an amazing month and Spring is coming in masquerading as summer.80's today and tomorrow end the summer weather spell,but it has been amazing.Records are being smashed everywhere.
Caribou, Maine which is as far as you can go before entering Canada. Yesterday smashed their previous record high which was 57, they hit 73.And these kinds of records are being smashed all over the east.
Back to normal this weekend,in fact Sunday looks cold and wet,but no below normal temps in sight.

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missing out on the warmth

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:42 PM GMT on March 15, 2012

While most of the east is enjoying record breaking warmth,our little corner of the northeast is stuck in the 40's. In fact the western areas of New England are enjoying 60's.It will start to warmup this weekend into next week,but a possibility another backdoor cold front may edge down the coast on Monday.
Being so close to Canada and surrounded by the cold north atlantic,this time of year it is hard to keep the warmth. When high pressure moves to our east or northeast it switches the flow to an east to northeast flow off the cold atlantic keeping us pretty chilly. It was cool and raw yesterday and again today.May get into some record breaking warmth sometime next week. We'll see.
Some parts of Boston are still in the dark this morning after the explosion and fire in a transformer building in downtown Boston.Thankfully it hasn't been too cold for those without electricity.

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up and down temps

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:13 PM GMT on March 14, 2012

Most of the country east of the rockies is really warm,the last two days I've hit 73,but now the flow has turned off the waters,which are still in the 40's,so much cooler weather the next couple of days.
One of the downfalls living near the ocean is when the temps are off the ocean in springtime,it can turn much cooler than a hundred miles inland.
Gradual warmup over the weekend and could be up in the 70's again by early next week.
Big story in Boston last night was a large power transformer blew up and caught fire in the center of Boston and they had to turn off power to a large section of the city,power is still out in a large area this morning.When a large city loses power,it can be chaos,but things seem to be calm this morning.

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warmth continues

Posted by: NEwxguy, 5:49 PM GMT on March 13, 2012

another week and spring officially begins,but anyone living in the norteast won't even notice the change in seasons,we pretty much have been in spring weather this entire month.
So today we should hit 70 again,then tomorrow our wonderful backdoor cold front comes in off the ocean and chill us off in the afternoon,lasting through Friday,then we start to warm it back up for the weekend.Occ. chances of light showers at different times.No indications of any artic air taking a run at us in the near future.

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Monday morning ramblings

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:30 PM GMT on March 12, 2012

Another Monday morning.Having trouble getting my energy focused on the day's work.
1.Our April weather will continue for the foreseeable future,which brief minor cool downs.
2. Signs of spring everywhere
a. Robins all over the place in the yards,indications the worms are already moving in the soil.
b.Maple trees buds are already growing large,way
ahead of time,if this keeps up,we'll see leaves on the trees in early April.
c.Mentioning sea breezes already,which is normally reserved for spring.
3.Was about to open the door to my deck and let my cat out for the morning,when I see a fox standing next to the deck,glad I spotted him before I let the cat out.
4.A sign of our easy winter,usually at this time of year,the sides of the streets have a large amount of sand from all the sanding over the winter,very little sand around this year.
5.Really cool sight in the sky at night with Venus and Jupiter sitting next to each other,they'll continue to get closer and closer for the next week or so.
So I better get started working,and get this shortened week going. I will be off Friday and the following Mon. and Tues. as I start my remodeling projects in my house.

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warmth continues

Posted by: NEwxguy, 1:49 PM GMT on March 09, 2012

So I hit 69 degrees,with some areas touching 70 yesterday. Frontal passage last night will give us a quick shot of colder weather,but back into the 50's by Sunday and most of next week we should see the 60's.So our warm weather pattern we've had since last November continues.
Winds were definitely an issue yesterday. A house fire in a coast community south of Boston,quickly spread to 3 other houses,and all 4 houses were a total loss,thankfully everyone got out. It only took about 30 minutes for the fire to spread from one house to other,with 50 mph wind gusts.
Some reports of minor damage around the area.Winds really howled through the night and dropped off after the front moved through before dawn this morning.

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signs of spring

Posted by: NEwxguy, 3:39 PM GMT on March 07, 2012

By now,we've talked about what a warm winter we've had,so there are effects from this winters warm and snowless pattern.
Good effects are:
Trees are already showing buds
Crocuses are already blooming in sheltered areas
The ground has not frozen to any huge depths,so it should thaw out completely way ahead of time,which for me means I get my peas in early this year.
No problem with ice dams this year
Easy year for travel
Only a couple of school cancellation days,some towns had none.
Very little snow clearing,I didn't even break out the snowblower this year.
Heating bills are down,although offset by the high price of fuel.

The negative effects:
The tick population is going to be very bad this year and out early,may even be some around now.
With so little snow melt,unless we have a wet spring,water shortages are almost a sure bet.Reservoirs are very low for this time of year.
Winter sports areas got hit hard,although ski areas are able to make snow.
The warmer waters to start with make be a factor if we get any tropical systems up this way,warmer waters will not break down these systems as they travel north,as well as the warmer Gulf waters may be a breeding ground for tropical systems this year.

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warm UP!!

Posted by: NEwxguy, 2:08 PM GMT on March 06, 2012

so brief peek at winter with some snow last week and cold weather that last few days is over.Today will still be chilly around 40,but tomorrow 50's,and 60+ on Thursday,so any snow on the ground will go quickly.The warmth will end on Friday,but another warmup for early next week, and long term March could have several warmups,as the weather pattern is transitioning to spring pattern early.

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Up and Down weather

Posted by: NEwxguy, 2:08 PM GMT on March 05, 2012

So the weather continues to flip back and forth,which is normal for spring,although basically we are still in winter.
It was a dry weekend,temps not too bad,but now its turned much colder for the next two days,then on Wednesday we approach 60,and on Thursday we go over 60 in most souther new england,then back to normal for the weekend.
Such sad stories out of the tornado ravaged areas.The saddest is the passing of the 8 month old child that was found in a field.We're really not even into tornado season,as we think of it and already two major outbreaks,for people out in the tornado alley,it must send chills down your back wondering if this is a preview of what is to come.

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Mixed bag

Posted by: NEwxguy, 2:13 PM GMT on March 02, 2012

Depending on where you were in New England yesterday,determined what kind of precip you had.If you were traveling in New England yesterday South to North,you probably experienced every type of precip you could except hail,but you probably had some sleet.
I probably received 5 or 6 inches of snow,but whats left on the ground is about 3 inches,all frozen this morning.Then it will get washed away tomorrow with a warm heavy rain.
Turning much colder Mon and Tuesday,then springlike weather for the end of next week.So the rollercoaster winter continues.I still consider it winter until March 21st.
Watching the mid section of the country today as there is another risk of severe weather with possible tornadoes.Lets hope its not too serious.

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Northeast snow and rain

Posted by: NEwxguy, 12:59 PM GMT on March 01, 2012

This storm is basically a little of everything,the more north you go, the more snow.Here just west of boston,I have about 3 inches of wet snow,mostly slush on the roadways.Its been switching back and forth rain and snow all night,right now a burst of moderate snow.
Decided to work from home today,with fighting a heavy cold and the slop that is out there.This is forecast to continue off and on all day.
Most of this will get washed away on Saturday with a warm rain storm.

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