It has been so cloudy so lately, I think I may book my next trip to a sunnier place sometime soon...maybe right now!
The past ten days, since February 23 have been just downright gray! I will say at times though, that there have been some sunny breaks. However this has been a mostly cloudy stretch of weather that even stretches back further for many towns beyond ten days!
At the same time though, it's been warm, at least when comparing the numbers to climate. Here is how the Burlington area has been from February 23-March 4, 2013
| BTV Since Feb 23 | +/- | |||
| High temp | 36.2F | Avg high | 34F | +2.2F |
| Low temp | 29.1F | Avg low | 16F | +13.1F |
| Snowfall | 4.8" | Avg snow | 5.9" | -1.1" |
| Precipitation | 0.60" | Avg precip | 0.65" | -0.05" |
The number that stands out to me most is the +13.1F on the observed low temperature! Sure we haven't seen an outstanding daytime high temperature difference, merely a couple degrees warmer than average, but it's those overnight low temperatures. Burlington typically falls into the teens, but has been closer to 30 degrees during this time frame. That has bumped the combined (low+high) temperature to about seven to eight degrees warmer than late Feb/early Mar 'norms.' Clouds can do that this time of year, acting as a blanket and keeping the heat in. It also proves for tougher forecasts, as my February verification shows I was further off in my low temperature forecasting much more than high temperature forecasting.
Burlington has seen the snow though, almost five inches slowly adding up during a ten-day consecutive stretch of at least Trace snowfall at the airport. That still is, though, slightly less than average for the ten-day average.
Oh and by the way, have you seen full sunshine lately?! Chances are no, in that the Queen City has had seven clear days since January 1. That is 7/63 clear days or 1 clear day every 9 on the calendar. What's the link to that travel web site again?
We have had a prolonged time of a stalled pattern to our east. On the left you'll see an image with green and yellow on it. The top image is from 700 millibars, which is about 10,000 feet above ground level. It is a forecast image of where higher relative humidity is (shown in green/dark green) and is a way to forecast clouds. The red circle shows a 'closed low' which means that the wave in the atmosphere has a closed circulation and generally moves slower than an open wave. It gets cut off from the main jet stream flow and loses its forward progression. This particular closed low goes all the way to 250 millibars which is >30,000' up, meaning it's really stalled out and/or moving slowly. Since we have the position of that low to our east and a general north wind from it, that promotes extra clouds and series of snow showers for northern New England, hence a ten-day stretch of light snowfall for the Burlington area. Hey I can't complain though, Spring (on the calendar) is right around the corner and Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 10. Have a bright day!
-Meteorologist Steve Glazier
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