18 September 2012

Perfect Autumn Weather in Eastern USA Ending Abruptly

Posted by Dan Satterfield

Tilghman Island in the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday. Much of the nation has had over a week of lovely fall weather but changes are underway big time. Dan's pic.

A very strong pressure gradient will develop ahead of a cool front Tuesday and Gale warnings arre already being posted for much of the Mid Atlantic and Northeast U.S. for TUesday afternoon and evening. Heavy rains and a threat f severe weather will also accompany the cold front.

Sea level pressure forecast for Tuesday afternoon. The closer the isobars are together the faster the wind will blow. A deep surface low will track into Southern Canada along the cold front.

Look how amplified the mid atmospheric wind flow is going to be this week. I cannot help but think of the papers published by Dr. Jennifer Francis at Rutgers relating the loss of Arctic Sea ice to more amplified flow over the Northern Hemisphere. I have mentioned this research several times recently, and there are other papers coming out soon about this as well. The DOSBAT Blog also has a fascinating post about the ramifications of the sea ice loss. This is certainly a pattern that would fit, but will it be a dominant player in the coming weeks and months??

Only time will tell, but all that extra heat in the Arctic has to have an effect.