Snowy Mother’s Day Weekend
Say it ain’t snow!?!?!?!? We are seeing another shot of snow this weekend, in what continues to be a weird springtime. For the past couple of months we have been…
Continue Reading
April Snow: Here This Morning, Gone this Afternoon
All of us across Southern New England woke up to a snowy scene this morning with some areas seeing almost 6” of heavy, wet snow. April snow isn’t all that…
Continue Reading
Thunder Sleet/Snow/Storm to end the year
We saw an interesting phenomenon yesterday with our storm system. A secondary area of low pressure formed to our south which brought in more precipitation for the overnight hours. Secondary…
Continue ReadingWhat do blocks and jet streaks have in common?
by Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science Blocks and jet streaks appear to be fairly different phenomena. However, in a very idealized sense, they can be thought of two versions…
Continue Reading
Wintry Start to Meteorological Winter
Meteorological Winter is on our doorstep, beginning this Sunday! So far, we have seen a light start to winter, only a trace of snow accumulation has been recorded for Lowell;…
Continue ReadingInteracting vortices: idealized examples and relevance to the atmosphere
by Mathew Barlow, UML Professor of Climate Science This is a brief discussion of some of the ways different isolated areas of vorticity - vortices - can interact with each…
Continue ReadingRecent Stratospheric Polar Vortex Breakdown and Recovery
by Mathew Barlow, UML Professor of Climate Science During the 2018-2019 Northern Hemisphere winter, a major Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) occurred in association with the breakdown of the Polar Stratospheric…
Continue ReadingA brief discussion of scientific evidence
by Mathew Barlow, UML Professor of Climate Science The basic unit of scientific evidence is a peer-reviewed publication in a reputable scientific journal. More on exactly what that means in…
Continue ReadingWhat a morning!
Not expecting any precipitation this morning, lucky folks in the northeast Boston area were treated to a beautiful sight around 8am as the sun came up over the horizon. Almost…
Continue ReadingA brief introduction to potential vorticity with no equations
by Mathew Barlow, UML Professor of Climate Science 1. Definitions Vorticity is a measure of local rotation in the atmosphere, and potential vorticity is an extension of vorticity that further…
Continue Reading