WEATHER 101 with Al Kaprielian – Looking at the Weather from March

This year March proved to be a chilly month. We saw many days where the temperatures averaged below normal. Also we had some winter weather with a blizzard on Tuesday March 14. This storm brought heavy snow inland with mostly rain along the coast.

This storm had strong winds due to the high intensification it had. The wind gusted to 79 mile per hour at Wellfleet on lower Cape Cod. Barnstable on the mid Cape had a wind gust to 74 miles per hour. Hurricane force winds are 74 miles per hour and this stormhad winds greater than hurricane force.

Due to the very strong winds this caused a tremendous amount of power outages. Over inland areas where heavy snow occurred the visibility was quite low because of the strong winds blowing the snow around. This storm got its intensity form passing over the warmer ocean waters. After this storm moved away we saw some tranquil weather for awhile with some milder temperatures.

However, our stormy weather for the month was not over. On Friday March 31st we would see another storm with more snow especially away from coastal areas including Cape Cod & the Islands. Being the end of March, elevation plays a role in snow amounts. The highest snow amounts for this storm occurred over the higher elevations. It’s not unusual to see snow in late March and April. Back in 1997, Boston got 25.4 inches of snow on March 31 into April 1st. Worcester got 33 inches. Around 700,000 people lost power due to the Blizzard of 1997.

With the sun angle getting higher in the sky snow does not last long during late March and April. It melts fairly quickly with enough sunshine.

The storm on March 31st had wind, but the winds were not quite as strong as the March 14th storm. The March 31st storm produced wind gusts of 62 miles per hour at Eat Falmouth on Cape Cod with a 65 mile per hour wind gust at Nantucket. As we are now in April we should see the daily temperatures rise as we go through the month.

Also the length of day will continue to increase as we go through April. When the sun is out it feels warm but this can be misleading because in April you can still get snow due to cold air aloft.

Now with the sun getting higher in the sky and stronger you should apply sunscreen if you are going to spend many hours outside due to working or recreation. As I write next month’s article, the recent snow should be all gone. Let’s hope I can talk about some warmer weather when I write next month’s article. Next month we will recap April’s weather and talk about what we can expect during the month of May.

In conclusion, this year March saw colder temperatures for Boston compared to December, January and February. Strange weather!!!

E-Mail your questions for Al Kaprielian at valleypatriot@aol.com