Good evening from Southern Connecticut Weather.
We're marching toward spring. After a very active February, the overall pattern is changing. Instead of prolonged cold, for the foreseeable future we're looking at a reversal, with longer "warmer" periods and shorter periods of cold.
To be clear, this isn't shorts and sandals weather, but with nearly three minutes of additional daylight each day and a less conducive pattern for significant snow events, for now, winter is releasing its grip.
We're marching toward spring. After a very active February, the overall pattern is changing. Instead of prolonged cold, for the foreseeable future we're looking at a reversal, with longer "warmer" periods and shorter periods of cold.
To be clear, this isn't shorts and sandals weather, but with nearly three minutes of additional daylight each day and a less conducive pattern for significant snow events, for now, winter is releasing its grip.
Above: a temperature departure map for February. Can you believe it? Colder than average! As you can see, however, areas to our west were very cold.
March Climatology
Before jumping into the forecast, which looks mostly quiet, why not talk about March. Overall, March is usually a month of transition in CT. Some years, like the last few, it can be wintry, bringing the majority of a season's snow. In other years, it is a seesaw, with warm and cold periods.
Hartford (BDL)
Average March 1 High Temperature: 42
Average March 1 Low Temperature: 24
March 1 Sunset: 5:41pm
Average March 31 High Temperature: 54
Average March 31 Low Temperature: 33
March 31 Sunset: 7:15pm (note this is partly due to daylight saving time)
Average March Snowfall: 6.4"
Bridgeport (BDR)
Average March 1 High Temperature: 43
Average March 1 Low Temperature: 28
March 1 Sunset: 5:44pm
Average March 31 High Temperature: 52
Average March 31 Low Temperature: 36
March 31 Sunset: 7:17pm
Average March Snowfall: 5.1"
Let's go to the forecast.
Monday-Tuesday
The start of the week is really the most active part of the forecast. Rain has moved into the state as we are stuck between a developing low offshore and advancing cold front. In this sector, we see rain as warmer air gets advected into the state.
This is a decently wet system, so expect a rainy overnight period and periods of showers during much of the day tomorrow. Have an umbrella tomorrow if you are out and about. As the front passes tomorrow afternoon we may see some snowflakes at the back end, but I'm am not expecting anything meaningful.
However you should be prepared for the temperatures to drop and winds to pick up. A Wind Advisory has been issued for all of CT tomorrow afternoon into Tuesday morning. Maximum winds look to be between 40-50mph, maybe a touch stronger at the shoreline, but I am not anticipating significant power outages as we still don't have leafed out trees or heavy precipitation like snow weighing things down. Watch out for black ice tomorrow evening and into Tuesday.
Tuesday looks sunny, windy, and cold. I think the winds diminish Tuesday afternoon and as I mentioned earlier, this is one of those examples of a brief cold push followed by warmer days.
March Climatology
Before jumping into the forecast, which looks mostly quiet, why not talk about March. Overall, March is usually a month of transition in CT. Some years, like the last few, it can be wintry, bringing the majority of a season's snow. In other years, it is a seesaw, with warm and cold periods.
Hartford (BDL)
Average March 1 High Temperature: 42
Average March 1 Low Temperature: 24
March 1 Sunset: 5:41pm
Average March 31 High Temperature: 54
Average March 31 Low Temperature: 33
March 31 Sunset: 7:15pm (note this is partly due to daylight saving time)
Average March Snowfall: 6.4"
Bridgeport (BDR)
Average March 1 High Temperature: 43
Average March 1 Low Temperature: 28
March 1 Sunset: 5:44pm
Average March 31 High Temperature: 52
Average March 31 Low Temperature: 36
March 31 Sunset: 7:17pm
Average March Snowfall: 5.1"
Let's go to the forecast.
Monday-Tuesday
The start of the week is really the most active part of the forecast. Rain has moved into the state as we are stuck between a developing low offshore and advancing cold front. In this sector, we see rain as warmer air gets advected into the state.
This is a decently wet system, so expect a rainy overnight period and periods of showers during much of the day tomorrow. Have an umbrella tomorrow if you are out and about. As the front passes tomorrow afternoon we may see some snowflakes at the back end, but I'm am not expecting anything meaningful.
However you should be prepared for the temperatures to drop and winds to pick up. A Wind Advisory has been issued for all of CT tomorrow afternoon into Tuesday morning. Maximum winds look to be between 40-50mph, maybe a touch stronger at the shoreline, but I am not anticipating significant power outages as we still don't have leafed out trees or heavy precipitation like snow weighing things down. Watch out for black ice tomorrow evening and into Tuesday.
Tuesday looks sunny, windy, and cold. I think the winds diminish Tuesday afternoon and as I mentioned earlier, this is one of those examples of a brief cold push followed by warmer days.
Above: 3km NAM depiction of Monday and Tuesday. Rain tomorrow followed by a cold and windy overnight and Tuesday morning.
Wednesday-Thursday
We warm up for the middle of the week. Wednesday and Thursday look great, with sunny conditions and temperatures in the 40s. For inland areas, Wednesday may bring temperatures in the 50s in spots. No complaints here for early March.
Friday-Sunday
This period looks quiet too, albeit a little colder with highs in the 30s to low 40s. Things look partly cloudy with some storm systems staying well away from the region. We'll watch for temperature and storm track trends. For now, I'm keeping rain chances out.
The Dailies
Monday: Mostly cloudy with rain showers. Chance of snow showers late. Windy by afternoon. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Chance of rain 90%. Chance of snow 20%.
Tuesday: Decreasing clouds and breezy. Highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. Chance of snow showers early 20%.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 40s.
Friday: Mostly sunny and colder. Highs in the low to mid 30s.
Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid to upper 30s.
Sunday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s to low 40s.
As always, please like, share, and interact with us on our social media--on Facebook to share our discussions, and follow us on Twitter @southernctwx to retweet our posts. Hit the buttons below to join.
Thank you for reading.
-DB
Wednesday-Thursday
We warm up for the middle of the week. Wednesday and Thursday look great, with sunny conditions and temperatures in the 40s. For inland areas, Wednesday may bring temperatures in the 50s in spots. No complaints here for early March.
Friday-Sunday
This period looks quiet too, albeit a little colder with highs in the 30s to low 40s. Things look partly cloudy with some storm systems staying well away from the region. We'll watch for temperature and storm track trends. For now, I'm keeping rain chances out.
The Dailies
Monday: Mostly cloudy with rain showers. Chance of snow showers late. Windy by afternoon. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Chance of rain 90%. Chance of snow 20%.
Tuesday: Decreasing clouds and breezy. Highs in the upper 20s to low 30s. Chance of snow showers early 20%.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and warmer. Highs in the upper 40s to low 50s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 40s.
Friday: Mostly sunny and colder. Highs in the low to mid 30s.
Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid to upper 30s.
Sunday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s to low 40s.
As always, please like, share, and interact with us on our social media--on Facebook to share our discussions, and follow us on Twitter @southernctwx to retweet our posts. Hit the buttons below to join.
Thank you for reading.
-DB
