Weather

Smelling smoke in Massachusetts? Nova Scotia wildfire plume overspreads the region

May 30, 2023 by pkzadmin

Have you been smelling smoke outside but don’t see a fire?

Nova Scotia wildfire smoke made its way to Massachusetts on Tuesday, as those with a sensitive nose were able to smell the smoke as it pushed through the region. The smoke plume from Canada also impacted visibility in spots across southern New England.

An “Air Quality Alert” was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection with the wildfire smoke overspreading the Bay State.

“Fine particle levels will elevate at times into the Moderate and Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups range as wildfire smoke influences our region,” the advisory stated. “An Air Quality Alert for elevated fine particle levels has been posted for areas of Mass through midnight tonight.”

After the worst of the smoke moved through the state on Tuesday, less concentrated and less potent smoke is expected to stick around on Wednesday.

“It should still haze up the skies, but it won’t be as thick,” said Kristie Smith, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office.

“We’ll still be stuck with some smoke until we can get winds from the west to scour the smoke out,” Smith added.

Satellite imagery showed the plume of smoke moving into eastern Massachusetts midday Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

“Nova Scotia smoke has made its way to the surface, we can actually smell it here at the office!” tweeted the National Weather Service’s Boston office, which is based in Norton.

Wildfires in Canada’s Atlantic coast province of Nova Scotia have caused thousands to evacuate.

The Halifax Regional Municipality said late Monday that about 200 homes or structures have been damaged, based on initial visual inspections by first responders.

An estimated 14,000 people were told to flee their homes, most of which are about a 30-minute drive northwest of downtown Halifax.

Fire officials said the out-of-control fire, which started Sunday in nearby Upper Tantallon, has destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, though there hadn’t been any reports of deaths or injuries.

Herald wire services were used in this report.

Massachusetts, get ready for 90-degree heat as June arrives after cool Memorial Day

May 28, 2023 by pkzadmin

Just as the calendar flips to meteorological summer on June 1, temps could be soaring to 90 degrees across the region.

After a Memorial Day cool down with a backdoor cold front crossing Massachusetts, forecasters are predicting that temperatures will rebound for the end of the week — with 90-degree heat possible on Thursday and Friday.

“It looks like it will be very warm across southern New England on Thursday and Friday,” Kristie Smith, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.

Sunday was the warmest day of the holiday weekend, as summer lovers enjoyed a beautiful day across the region. Highs jumped into the upper 80s in the Merrimack Valley.

“Safety tip: Hydrate and take breaks in the shade as temperatures will rise into the upper 80s over the next couple of hours. #BeSafeBoston,” Boston EMS tweeted Sunday afternoon.

Then on Monday, the fairly strong backdoor cold front will lead to a much cooler marine airmass to roll in off the ocean. High temps will be held in the lower to middle 60s along the coast, including Boston. The breeze will make it feel a bit cool, especially when compared to the very warm temps on Sunday.

Temperatures should stay cool in the 60s in the Boston-area on Tuesday, followed by a warming trend into the upper 70s on Wednesday. Then the potential for 90-degree heat arrives on Thursday and Friday.

“Best chances appear to be across CT, RI, and interior eastern MA,” the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion reads about the 90-degree days. “Given dryness of airmass (dewpoints in 40s/50s) heat indices should fall short of Heat Advisory criteria but certainly something to keep tabs on during the week.”

It should be another dry week, with a chance for rain Friday night into Saturday when a cold front brings the next best possibility for showers or a few thunderstorms. A substantial soaking rain is unlikely.

Massachusetts weather forecast: Temps could near 80 degrees during pleasant week

May 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

After an absolutely gorgeous spring weekend, a very pleasant week of weather is expected for the region — with a chance for temperatures to approach 80 degrees by the end of the workweek.

A cold front should cool temps a bit midweek, but a warming trend later in the week could bring temps close to 80 degrees by Thursday and Friday across Massachusetts.

Following some rain showers overnight, things should clear out Monday morning.

“We’ll be starting the week off pretty nice,” Kyle Pederson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald on Sunday. “It should be mostly sunny with a high of 73 degrees.”

Then a backdoor cold front arrives on Tuesday, dropping temps into the lower 60s. Wednesday’s temps should be in the upper 60s.

“The backdoor front coming through will keep us a bit cooler, but no rain is associated with that,” Pederson said.

Then the temps are expected to warm back up into the 70s on Thursday and Friday, above normal for this time of year when average high temps are 64 degrees.

“No major precipitation is to be seen right now,” Pederson said. “Nothing major coming our way.”

While mostly dry, there is a chance for some showers and thunderstorms sometime late week or early next weekend. But no single day is shaping up to be a complete washout.

More than 50% of the Bay State is considered abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The areas that are abnormally dry are eastern Massachusetts, the Cape and the Islands.

The Drought Monitor’s forecast reads, “Following a very wet end to April along the East Coast, drier weather is forecast to be accompanied by a gradual warming trend across the East.”

Bostonians enjoy a perfect spring day at the Public Garden Sunday. (Photo by Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald)

Runners heading into cooler temps, light headwind on marathon day

April 16, 2023 by pkzadmin

Narrowly dodging last weeks high temps, Boston Marathon runners look to be set for cool, moderate race day conditions this Patriots Day — but run the risk of hitting some afternoon rain.

Starting off in the morning, there will likely be some patchy fog and light drizzle, with temperatures starting around 50° and ticking closer to 60° as the day goes on — not the hottest and not the coldest race day in recent memory.

Last year’s Boston Marathon saw a high of 50° and a low of 39°.

This comes after record breaking heat last Thursday — hitting a scorching 88° high — and Friday — 83° high — before the region cooled off to more reasonable, nearly-seasonable temperatures Saturday and Sunday.

“There’s going to be a light easterly wind, so that’d be a headwind for the runners as they start out in the morning,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Belk. “Then that will transition to the southeast wind as we go into the afternoon. And then to top it all off, there’ll be a slight risk of some thunderstorms as we get into the afternoon hours in the greater Boston area.”

The chance of rain ticks up around noon, hitting the highest chance 43% around 2 p.m., and the chance of thunder remains slightly lower, between 10% to 20% in the early afternoon.

The rest of the week is predicted to be fairly consistent, with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s and lows in the 40s. The temperatures look to range from slightly above normal to normal for April, Belk noted.

After Monday’s rain, the region is likely to see a mostly dryer week, Belk said. Tuesday through Friday are predicted to be clearer and sunnier with light winds keeping the region cooler.

A chance of rain may circle back around Friday night through the weekend. Showers are are forecasted most likely on Saturday night, hitting a 60% chance.

Massachusetts weather forecast: Close to 70 degrees on the way during ‘mostly dry week’

April 2, 2023 by pkzadmin

Could 70 degrees be spotted on thermometers across the region during the first week of April?

It’s certainly a possibility with the National Weather Service forecasting unseasonably warm conditions this week.

The warmest day is expected to be on Thursday, as meteorologists forecast high temps in the upper 60s to near 70 degrees.

“If this were a sunny day we would be talking highs approaching 80F!” the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion reads. “Given the amount of clouds and periods of rain, highs are more in line with the upper-60s to near 70! Still not bad when you see our normal high are in the low to mid-50s.”

Ahead of that abnormally warm Thursday, the workweek should start with dry and mild conditions. Monday will be a mostly sunny day with high temps in the mid-50s.

It’s expected to turn breezy Monday afternoon, with strong wind gusts up to 35 mph. Also, dewpoints are only going to be in the 20s.

“These low dew pts combined with gusty SSW winds in the afternoon may yield an elevated fire weather risk,” reads the National Weather Service forecast discussion. “Nonetheless, overall still a pleasant day for early April.”

After the sunny start to the week, Tuesday should be mostly cloudy with a chance for some rain showers. High temps are expected to be in the upper 50s. Areas south of the Mass Pike could see temps in the mid-60s.

Wednesday will also be a cloudy day, with a 50% chance for rain showers. Temps will drop into the mid-40s on the chillier midweek day.

Then the temps rebound on Thursday, with close to 70 degrees predicted. The mostly cloudy day will have a 50% chance for showers.

Friday’s temps will drop into the mid-50s amid partly cloudy conditions.

“Overall, it will be a mostly dry week with the best chance for rain on Wednesday and Thursday,” Alan Dunham, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office, told the Herald.

“Next weekend should be a beautiful weekend,” he added.

Saturday is expected to be sunny in the mid-50s, and Sunday should be a similar dry day with temps around 60 degrees.

Massachusetts communities dig out from 30-plus inches of snow, Ashby declares state of emergency, State Police search team rescues hikers

March 15, 2023 by pkzadmin

Bay State communities pounded by feet of snow dug out from the whopper on Wednesday, as utility companies restored power to tens of thousands of households and a town was in a state of emergency.

Massachusetts State Police also reported that a search team rescued two hikers who had been stranded in the heavy snow overnight in western Massachusetts.

The nor’easter dumped three feet of snow on parts of the state, including a towering 37 inches of snow in Franklin County’s Hawley and 36 inches in both Colrain and Rowe out west, according to the National Weather Service’s updated snowfall totals on Wednesday.

The last time the state had a snow report of 37-plus inches was the Blizzard of 1978, when Norton recorded a whopping 39 inches, according to the NWS’ record books.

In northern Middlesex County, Ashby’s snowfall total hit 30 inches from this storm, and up to 34 inches in isolated areas of the town on the New Hampshire border.

With downed trees piling across roadways and the entire community without power, the town of Ashby declared a state of emergency. Unitil deployed its mobile command unit to Ashby, and 64% of the town remained without power as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency power outage tracker.

“MEMA received a request for support from Ashby yesterday (Tuesday) with elevating communications requests to Comcast and Verizon,” a MEMA spokesperson said in a statement. “The request has since been fulfilled. Our local coordinators continue to be in communication with local emergency management officials supporting any gaps or resource requests that are identified.”

Town officials warned drivers to lookout for high snow banks, making it harder for motorists to see people in the road or working on their driveways.

“With the snow amounts being so high, please check the vents from your combustible heat sources outside your home,” wrote Ashby FIRE EMS Association Inc. “If these vents are blocked with snow it will cause deadly carbon monoxide to build up inside your home.”

Across the state, nearly 12,000 households were still without power as of 5 p.m., according to the MEMA tracker. The majority of the outages were in northern Worcester County and the Berkshires.

Out in the Berkshires Tuesday night, a State Police search team found two hikers stranded by heavy snow in Mount Washington State Forest. The six-person search team was eventually able to escort the men, aged 47 and 53, out of the forest shortly before dawn.

The rescue operation began at 7:48 p.m. Tuesday when one of the hikers called 911. Because of the heavy snow and darkness, he and his friend could no longer see the trail markings, they could not keep going to a cabin at the mountain peak, and they could not retrace their steps back out of the forest. They were about two miles into the forest.

After first responders cleared roads to get to the forest trail, the members of the rescue team hiked for more than 2.5 hours, and found the hikers at about 2:30 a.m. The two men were suffering from fatigue and cold temps, but were not injured. The group of eight then began the hike back out of the forest.

EMTs responded to examine the hikers, and transported them to an area hospital for evaluation due to their fatigue and cold weather exposure.

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