Winter blast may strike again
Chance for ‘active storm pattern’ after mild stretch
While dry and quiet weather is expected to continue across Massachusetts and southern New England this week, local meteorologists have their eyes on a potentially “active storm pattern” to hit the region in a few weeks.
Forecasters tell the Herald that the Bay State could be in store for a stretch of colder and snowier weather following major changes with the polar vortex.
The polar vortex is “splitting,” said Judah Cohen, of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, meaning that colder air could be coming to the region in a few weeks.
“Occasionally the polar vortex disrupts, so it gets knocked off its perch, moving from the North Pole to lower latitudes,” said Cohen, a forecaster for AER, a Verisk company. “With that, the colder air goes with it, and the three regions most vulnerable for severe winter weather outbreaks are East Asia, Europe, and the eastern U.S.”
There’s no guarantee that the storm pattern will arrive here in New England, he noted, saying these can be “feast or famine events.”
However, he added that it appears the polar vortex split could be following the 2012-2013 winter script, when Massachusetts experienced a massive blizzard with more than two feet of snow, along with other storms that season.
The winter weather around here has been “super quiet” since the December snowstorm that dropped more than a foot across much of the region, Cohen said.
“Are we in the quiet before the storm? It sure feels that way,” he said.
Shawn Kelley of Lowell’s Mill City Weather also said the weather pattern shows a chance for a stretch of big storms.
“It looks like an active storm pattern,” he said. “It’s hard to say if every storm will be snow, but the pattern is shaping up to be more active.”
As for this week, meteorologists are predicting 40degree days and dry weather.
National Weather Service Boston tweeted, “Mainly dry/quiet weather with temperatures averaging a bit above normal for most of the upcoming week. Afternoon highs should mainly be in the 40s with no real threat of precipitation until at least Friday!”