Wild Weather Friday: Wet, Whipping Winds, and Warm (near 60°F) to Winter (30s) in 6 Hours!

Good evening atmospheric audience! Man, do we have a doozy tomorrow. But first and foremost this is not, I repeat not, a snowstorm. However, if you’re traveling, be prepared for traffic, and possible delays / cancellations at the airport. From tomorrow morning to sundown, a massive clash of air masses, will lead to damaging winds and torrential flooding downpours, and exacerbated by snowmelt. If you have any loose holiday decorations, I strongly advise to take them down before you go to bed tonight.

For the entire Northeast, temperatures will pop into the upper 50s to near 60°F in spots! Downpours move into the tristate area for the early morning rush hour (later in the morning across the Seacoast). This is followed a squall line later in the morning into early afternoon further north. Rain ends between 12pm-2pm across NJ/NYC, and between 2-4pm in Mass/NH/ME.

Up next are the wind and temps. First part, wind will be howling out the SW with gusts of 35-50mph, up to 60-70mph along coastal sections. Some of the models are printing higher numbers, but we’ll see. Once the rain departs, cold air comes crashing in and the wind rotates out the NW with strong gusts in the afternoon, yet not a powerful as the morning.

This cold airmass tanks temps in the 30s between 6pm and 9pm! I wouldn’t be surprised to see some snow in the higher elevation spots of Hudson Valley, NW Mass and ski country. There’s a risk of flash freeze on side roads, parking lots and driveways so take care if you’re out tomorrow night or headed out Saturday morning. Heads-up for power outages across the Northeast as well. This type of system can bring down limbs and trees. See below for appx timing on rain series across the Northeast.

Btw, I’m canceling winter simply due to a non-meteorological forecasting tool, a newly acquired cordless snow shovel, a gift from our daughter! Just kidding obviously, far from it in fact. Details to come. I’ll be back over the weekend to discuss Christmas week, New Year’s, among other tidbits. Oh, and remember weather never sleeps!