Think of today's cold weather as a dress rehearsal. Despite being the coldest day of the season, today's weather is just a taste of what's headed our way over the next few days. Last night's passage of an arctic front cooled us down to eight degrees overnight and this afternoon's high will only reach the mid teens. That's 25 degrees cooler than normal. The winds should diminish a bit as the day goes on so we won't have to battle below zero wind chills this evening.
The temperature will hold steady in the mid teens overnight and rise to near 30 by tomorrow afternoon. That warming trend will be really brief as it is merely a small blob of warm air being pushed toward the northeast by a rapidly approaching Alberta Clipper. That storm is expected to explode in intensity and become a raging nor'easter once it gets over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The city is going to be on the western edge of the precipitation but we could see a dusting Saturday afternoon and a couple of inches for a Valentine's evening treat. Poor Boston could see up to a foot of new snow with higher amounts expected along the Maine coast.
Of bigger concern here in New York is the wind, blowing snow, and cold that will follow the storm. As the nor'easter strengthens over the Gulf of Maine and high pressure approaches from the west, the wind will pick up to 20-30 mph on Saturday night, and 30-35 mph with gusts possibly over 50 mph, on Sunday. The temperature is going to drop through the teens on Sunday, making for dangerously low wind chills, as cold air arrives directly from the North Pole. Monday morning's temperature will be close to the record of one degree set in 1888. Happy President's Day!
