Typical March Weather

If we had a museum of weather we would shoot and stuff today as a perfect example of March weather. A low developing southeast of Long Island is bringing the dreary clouds and occasional shower this Monday. Winds will shift around to the north as the day progresses, which will bring cooler, drier air this evening. Cloudy skies will gradually thin tonight, leading to a bit of sunshine tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow afternoon is a different story. The cold blob of air near the ground that is responsible for the clear skies will be overridden from the south by a warm wedge of moist air. Clouds will build in the warm air and there should be enough overrunning to produce rain. Some of those raindrops will freeze as they fall through the cold layer, creating a rain-sleet mix in the afternoon. Rain will eventually win out and stick around through a blustery Wednesday morning. Clear skies and seasonable temperatures return on Thursday.

In case you missed it last week (we did), the Times asked I. Ross Dickman, the meteorologist-in-charge at the the local National Weather Service forecast office, to answer readers' questions about the weather. He provides a good description of the process behind a forecast, the boundaries between what the NWS responsibilities and what private forecasters can do, and why NOAA Weather Radio repeats the damn marine forecast over and over. On a less enlightening note, the Times reports today that the second global warming skeptics conference is being held this week in New York. Head on over to Times Square if you want to meet people not fully grasping reality.