Cold in the Canyon!
THE THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR WITH THE LOWEST SUN ANGLE AND THE LEAST AMOUNT OF DAYLIGHT IS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS SOLAR WINTER. THIS PERIOD RUNS FROM EARLYNOVEMBER THROUGH EARLY FEBRUARY, AND IT'S CENTERED ON THE WINTER SOLSTICE. WE ARE JUST ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF SOLAR WINTER, BUT WE STILL HAVE METEOROLOGICAL WINTER AND ASTRONOMICAL WINTER TO GO YET. THE WEATHER HERE IN THE SHORT TERM WILL CERTAINLY BE CHILLY FOR EARLY NOVEMBER, AND A GUST WIND BLOWING AT TIMES TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW WILL ACCENTUATE THE CHILL IN THE AIR. THE LOWEST TEMP SO FAR THIS FALL IN THE PARK HAS BEEN 37, AND THAT OCCURRED BACK ON OCTOBER 17TH. TEMPS TONIGHT ANDTOMORROW NIGHT WE WILL BE CLOSE TO THAT VALUE. THAE YANKEE PARADE WILL FEATURE TEMPERATURES IN THE 40S WITH A COLD, GUSTY WIND MAKING IT FELL LIKE THE 30S. SKIES WILL BE MOSTLY SUNNY. WE WILL HAVE AN IDEAL SETUP TOMORROW NIGHT FOR RADIATIONAL COOLING IN THE SUBURBS...CRYSTAL CLEAR SKIES, LIGHT WINDS, VERY DRY AIR WITH LOW DEW POINTS, AND A LONG NOVEMBER NIGHT. FOR THAT REASON, THE SUBURBS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE THEIR COLDEST NIGHT OF THE SEASON TOMORROW NIGHT. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A NOTICEABLE WARMING TREND WILL GET UNDERWAY THIS WEEKEND, AND IT WILL STAY NICE AND MILD INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. AS WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ALL WEEK LONG, WE DO HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO WARM IT UP TOO QUICKLY ON SATURDAY. THAT'S BECAUSE THE RISING HEIGHTS AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE THAT DAY WILL LEAD TO A LOW LEVEL INVERSION, PROBABLY AROUND 950 MB. IN ADDITION, THE SURFACE WINDS ON SATURDAY WILL BE RELATIVELY LIGHT. AS A RESULT, THE CHILLY AIR WILL STAY TRAPPED IN THE LOWEST LEVELS OFTHE ATMOSPHERE, EVEN AS 850 MB TEMPS AND THICKNESSES RISE STEADILY ALL DAY. WE DO EXPECT THE WARMUP TO KICK INTO A HIGHER GEAR ON SUNDAY, AND THERE WILL PROBABLY BE AHEALTHY JUMP IN TEMPS FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON TO SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE SURFACE FLOW SEEMS TO WANT TO BECOME WEAKER AGAIN FROM LATE SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SO, TEMPS MAY JUST PLATEAU OUT FROM SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. HOW MILD IT GETS ON TUESDAY WILL DEPEND ON THE TIMING OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT COMING IN FROM THE WEST. AS FOR PRECIPITATION, A COUPLE OF SHOWERS WILL BE AROUND EARLY TONIGHT AS A STRONG SHORT WAVECROSSES THE REGION. THERE COULD EVEN BE SOME WET SNOW FLAKES ABOVE 800 OR 1000 FEET IN ELEVATION. THEN, IT WILL BE BONE DRY FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND AT LEAST NEXT MONDAY. THE EARLIEST THAT IT MAY SHOWER HERE WOULD BE SOMETIME ON TUESDAY, ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING. sOME OF YTHAT MOISTURE MAY BE CONNECTED TO TROPICAL STORM IDA, CURRENTLY OVER NICARAGUA.



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