Today is a bit of a strange day weatherwise. Our weather today and into tomorrow is being dominated by conditions hundreds of miles away. The end result for us is a mostly pleasant, if a bit chilly, couple of days. A big high pressure system has parked itself over Quebec. Cold, dry air circulating clockwise around that high is making its way from northern Quebec, down through New England, and over us. The cold air is in a shallow layer near the ground. The high pressure system doesn't have the oomph to push the cold, thus dense, air over the Appalachians so the air pools southward east of the mountains in a process known as cold air damming. Were this to occur three months from now the stage would be set for a nasty freezing rain event.
Today, though, it'll just be cool. We'll be lucky to see 70 degrees for a high today. Lows tonight will dip to around 50 in the city, bringing us the coolest weather since late-May. Summer is not over just yet, though, as we should warm up later in the week.
The second faraway factor is Hurricane Florence. Florence is expected to stay way out to sea, but the counterclockwise winds around the storm extend far enough that we will feel their effects in a couple of ways. Minor coastal flooding, especially at high tide, higher waves and dangerous rip currents are expected through tomorrow. It will also get windier as Florence gets closer to the high pressure system over Quebec. The wind will blow at a steady 10-15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph, through tomorrow.
Map of chilly weather from AccuWeather.com.
