SLOW MOVING LOW PRESSURE MAKES FOR A VERY DIFFICULT FORECAST... COOLER WEATHER SEEMS LIKELY MONDAY AND TUESDAY

I don’t ever recall a weather system quite like the one that is affecting the Northeastern states this weekend. It has been wreaking havoc up there with very strong winds, copious amounts of rain, high surf, etc, etc. Despite the center of the low being located nearby, our weather really hasn’t been that bad. Saturday turned out much better than forecasters expected and Sunday is starting out quite nice here locally. However, a look at the national radar shows an area of rain/showers just to our west. Whether this area of rain will be able to pivot into Hampton Roads is something that forecasters are trying to figure out this morning. The wind flow aloft is quite unusual as this large low pressure system slowly (and I mean slowly) moves eastward over the next few days. Why were the winds so strong over parts of the Northeastern states on Saturday? Well, the main reason was the strong pressure gradient between the deep low pressure centered over Eastern VA and a rather strong high pressure system in Eastern Canada. The strongest winds are now slowly moving northward into New England. I’ve seen reports of numerous power outages and trees that were toppled from the winds. Flooding is also an issue up there. As the low pulls away only very slowly, we’ll get into a northerly or northwesterly flow that will bring down some cooler air on Monday. I’ll have an update on Monday.