Bowling Season Is A Bit Early
Typically as we enter Spring we see what are called "bowling ball lows" -- these are low pressure systems that move quickly, bring a lot of energy and wind with them, and sometimes a good dose of rain. Bowling ball lows originate over the Plains and track quickly northeast, caught in the steering flow between a trough in the Midwest and the Northern Plains and the subtropical ridge of high pressure over the Gulf Coast or Southeast. In many instances these lows track northwest of Philadelphia and we ultimately end up on the warm side of the storm. As is the case in most strong or moderate La Nina winters, the primary storm track shapes up a bit farther west and forces a similar bowling-ball type weather pattern that results in some nice days, some rainy days, windy days in transition, but generally above normal temperatures as a whole in the pattern.The first of these bowling ball lows is impacting us tonight and tomorrow morning, with high winds lasting for about twelve hours before they diminish on Wednesday night. The next low pressure system will impact us on Friday and Friday night, taking a similar track to this first storm system.
While we will ultimately end up in the warm sector of the storm and will see temperatures push towards 50 degrees in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon, the start of the event could be ushered in with a period of freezing rain or sleet north and west of I-95. The devil is ultimately in the details, especially with regards to timing for the start of the event. If precipitation moves in quickly enough on Thursday night after temperatures bottom out around freezing, it is possible that Berks, Lehigh, and locations farther north and west could see some sleet or freezing rain before temperatures at the surface and aloft support rainfall.
At the same time, some parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid South could see another potent severe weather event and it's possible that places near us (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia) see a shot at a couple of strong, gusty storms on Friday afternoon. Up to an inch of rain is possible from Friday's soaker and another breezy day on tap Saturday as we transition away from one storm and into a very nice day on Sunday.Tags:
