With the nor'easter behind us and a relatively pleasant weekend ahead, let's look at some weather stats. You may have heard about record snowfalls across the region the past couple of days. This is true! But mostly meaningless! Precipitation, whether rain or snow, doesn't follow a normal distribution. Most days have zero or close to zero precipitation, and it doesn't take much to set a record. Still, places in Connecticut had over a foot of snow and a large swath of Long Island, including Queens, had over six inches, which was way more than expected. Another bit of weather trivia: The last four days in Central Park have all been at least ten degrees cooler than normal. That hasn't happened since May 2010. Finally, lost in all the news about Sandy, October was warmer than normal. In fact, 18 of the last 19 months have been warmer than normal.
The nor'easter is way off the coast of Maine this morning. That's far enough away to bring clear skies, but still close enough to produce a brisk northwest wind. This afternoon's high temperature should reach the lower 50s. A warm front should cross the region tomorrow afternoon. Saturday's high could be anywhere from the low to upper 50s, depending on how cloudy it gets as the front draws near.
Clouds will also greatly influence Sunday's high temperature. In the absence of clouds the warm air mass should bring highs in the mid 60s. However, a southerly breeze blowing over the cold ocean is likely to produce a thick deck of stratus clouds and hold the temperature in the upper 50s. Look for it to be cooler on Long Island and warmer in New Jersey on Sunday. Everywhere should be warm on Monday as the highs reach the mid 60s.
