Spring arrives with some Northeast U.S. snow and chill

Spring is in the air, having arrived on an astronomical level just hours prior to this being published. Weather is in flux as it tends to be during the season. In the wake of the latest strong central United States storm system, it’s just a tad quieter in the near term.

Weather Watch

Dirty rain. Thanks to another giant dust event Tuesday in New Mexico and the southern Plains, lofted dirt particles traveled along with the parent low and cold front on Wednesday. It brought the Chihuahuan Desert to the Midwest and beyond, leaving residue on vehicles and other objects after the rain. Some of this remains possible today in the Eastern U.S. as the front clears the coast.

Turning colder. Spring is a season of confused weather. That’s the case in the U.S. Northeast to end the work week as warmer air is pushed out by a strong cold front. In some places it will be replaced by snow. Particularly the mountains of northern New England could see several inches, with light accumulation possible into the southern Berkshires ahead of a blustery Friday.

Pattern pause. Much of the Lower 48 will see a bit of a flip in the recent pattern next week — we may end up witnessing widespread record warmth in the western U.S. around Monday to Wednesday. For now, this change does not seem to get entrenched. There appears to be potential for a new round of wetter west and warmer east to end the month.

Lightning link

Thundersnow sounds off in Midwest during Wednesday storm.

Terminator Thursday

On the spring equinox, the sun is directly above the equator. It also rises in the due east and sets in the due west, except at the poles.

Another neat fact about the equinox is that the Earth’s terminator is basically a straight north to south line as the globe sees roughly equal day and night length all over the place. Earth’s terminator cruises around the globe, separating night and day.

From the equinox through winter or summer, our planet’s tilt causes the terminator to wobble back and forth like a seesaw. The terminator is at its greatest tilt during the summer or winter solstice.

About

Weekday morning newsletter by a journalist/forecaster that connects weather and climate change dots while occasionally stirring the pot.

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