FRIDAY  JANUARY 5, 2018  6:03 A.M.

Skies have become mostly clear early on this Friday morning and temperatures have fallen to around 8 in the Clifton area to around zero further inland, winds are gusting to 30 mph in spots with wind chills well below zero.  Yesterday I recorded 5.5 inches of snow in Clifton.

Today and on Saturday will be extremely cold and windy, a wind chill advisory is in effect.  High temperatures will only be in the low teens while overnight lows tonight and Saturday night will be zero or below.

Sunday will be a little milder with less wind.

Finally a change in the pattern will cause more normal winter temperatures next week which will seem warm after this brutal cold snap.   There will be a chance of mixed precipitation Monday and Monday night, followed by dry and seasonably mild conditions for Tuesday.

Cool and dry weather Wednesday.  Milder Thursday and Friday.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – JAN 5 – A wind chill advisory is in effect for wind chills near -15 degrees.  Mostly sunny, very cold and windy, high in the mid teens, wind gusts to 40 mph possible.

TONIGHT – Partly cloudy and breezy and cold, low around 3.

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Sunny and very cold, high in the low teens, winds gusts to 30 mph possible.

SUNDAY – JAN 7 – Sunny and not as windy or frigid, high near 20.

MONDAY – JAN 8 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow and sleet in the afternoon and evening, little or no accumulation expected, milder with highs in the mid 30s.

TUESDAY – JAN 9 – Mostly sunny, high near 40.

WEDNESDAY – JAN 10 – Mostly sunny, high in the upper 30s.

THURSDAY – JAN 11 – Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming mostly cloudy, high in the low 40s.

MARINE FORECAST: A gale warning is in effect until 9 p.m. Saturday evening.  Today – northwest winds gusting to 45 knots, seas 5-8 feet.

OUTLOOK – A heavy freezing spray warning will be in effect from 6 p.m. this evening until 6 p.m. Saturday evening;  small craft advisories expected Saturday night; no advisories expected on Sunday; possible small craft conditions on Monday; below advisory conditions on Tuesday.

Have a nice day!

THURSDAY  JANUARY 4, 2018  6:00 A.M.

We have cloudy skies and some light flurries are falling, temperatures are not as cold as the last few mornings ranging from the upper 20s in the Clifton area down to the mid teens further inland, winds are brisk out of the north.

A rapidly developing storm is moving up the coast now and will be in the Gulf of Maine tonight. The latest models have the storm moving closer to the coast than what was indicated this time yesterday so we will have some moderate to heavy snow today. In the Clifton area I am expecting around 5-8 inches of accumulation, more along coastal sections and less to our west.  Strong winds above 35 mph will cause blowing and drifting of the snow.  Lucky that the storm is a quick mover and most of the snow will be over by sunset this evening.

Much colder tonight through at least Sunday morning with high temperatures Friday and Saturday near 10 with many below zero readings Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Winds will be strong on Friday but diminish somewhat on Saturday.

Milder air for next week however there will be a chance of light snow or rain Monday into Tuesday.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – JAN 4 – Winter storm warning is in effect!  Snow and blowing snow and very windy with gusts to near 40 mph, high in the upper 20s, accumulations of 5-8 inches expected.

TONIGHT – Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy, windy and much colder, low around 10.

FRIDAY – JAN 5 – Mostly sunny, windy and very cold, high in the mid teens.

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Sunny and very cold, high only around 10.

SUNDAY – JAN 7 – Mostly sunny, high near 20.

MONDAY – JAN 8 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow, not as cold, high in the mid 30s.

TUESDAY – JAN 9 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow, high near 40.

WEDNESDAY – JAN 10 – Mostly sunny, high in the mid 30s.

MARINE FORECAST:  A storm warning is in effect until 4 p.m. for north-northwest winds gusting to 55 knots, seas 5-10 feet.

OUTLOOK – A freezing spray warning will be in effect from 6 p.m. Friday night until 6 p.m. Saturday night;  gales likely Friday into Saturday; small craft advisories likely Saturday night; no advisories expected Sunday and Monday.

Have a nice day and if you are going out please be safe!

WEDNESDAY  JANUARY 3, 2018 6:09 A.M.

Our area has mostly clear skies early on this Wednesday morning and once again it is very cold with temperatures ranging from around 10 in the Clifton area down to near zero further inland, Walpack is at -5.  Winds are mainly calm.

High pressure moving offshore will give us a mostly sunny day, temperatures will not be as frigid with highs approaching the balmy 30 degree mark,

A storm off the coast of Florida will rapidly develop and come up the coast on Thursday, the latest models have shifted west with the track which would mean about 4 inches of snow for our area, less inland and more along the coast.  However one of the latest short range models has more of a shift westward with heavy snow of a foot or more over the entire area.  Along with the snow winds will be strong causing blowing and drifting of  the snow.  The snow should start before daybreak tomorrow and taper off in the evening.

Following the storm it will become extremely cold and windy Thursday night extending into Sunday morning, daytime highs will struggle to reach 10 degrees and overnight lows will be close to zero, wind chills will be well below zero.

Finally some moderation in the cold Monday and Tuesday, temperatures may reach the 40 degree mark both days, however there will be a good chance of rain possibly starting off as snow Monday morning.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – JAN 3 – Sunny, high near 30.

TONIGHT – Increasing cloudiness with snow likely after midnight, low around 20.

THURSDAY – JAN 4 – Snow and becoming windy, high in the upper 20s, accumulations around 4 inches.

FRIDAY – JAN 5 – Mostly sunny and frigid, high only in the low teens.

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Mostly sunny and frigid, high only around 10.

SUNDAY – JAN 7 – Mostly sunny, high near 20.

MONDAY – JAN 8 – Mostly cloudy and milder with a chance of rain or snow, high near 40.

TUESDAY – JAN 9 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow, high in the low 40s.

MARINE FORECAST:  TODAY – West wind to 9 knots, seas 1 foot.

OUTLOOK – A gale warning has been issued effective from midnight tonight until 6 a.m. Saturday morning; small craft advisories likely extending into Saturday night;  no advisories expected on Sunday.

CLIFTON CLIMATE SUMMARY:

December 2017 averaged around 2.5 degrees below normal;  precipitation was below normal with only 2.04″ falling, however snowfall was above normal with 10.3″ accumulating, the heaviest snow was on the 9th when 4.5″ fell………..    The highest temperature of the month was 60 degrees in the 5th, the lowest was 6 degrees recorded on New Year’s Eve.

The year 2017 averaged well above normal in temperatures and slightly below in precipitation..   Highest temperature was 97 recorded on June 13th with the lowest was the 6 degrees on New Year’s Eve.  The highest rainfall amount was 4.15″ recorded on October 29-30th,  the heaviest snow was on March 14th when 10 inches fell.

Have a nice day!

TUESDAY  JANUARY 2, 2018  6:18 A.M.

Skies are mostly clear early on this Tuesday morning and temperatures are a bit higher than this time yesterday ranging from around 10 in the Clifton area down to the single digits further inland, winds are light westerly.

Today we will have plenty of sunshine, high temperatures will be a couple of degrees higher than yesterday reaching the upper 20s, it will feel less harsh especially this afternoon when winds diminish.

Even a little milder tomorrow as high temperatures reach to near freezing.

A storm will form offshore and rapidly develop as it moves up the coast, at this time it appears that the storm will likely give us some snow with 1-2 inches likely but there is a potential for a lot more if the storm moves closer to the coast.

Following the storm it will become extremely cold with temperatures even lower than this past week, overnight lows near zero and highs barely reaching the low teens. Along with the cold the winds will be strong, dropping wind chill values well below zero.

It appears that there will be a moderation in temperatures next week with a chance of rain or snow on Monday.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – JAN 2 – Sunny, high in the mid 20s.

TONIGHT – Mostly clear, low around 10.

WEDNESDAY – JAN 3 – Mostly sunny, high near 30, snow likely after midnight.

THURSDAY – JAN 4 – Snow likely, possible accumulations 1-2 inches, high in the upper 20s.

FRIDAY – JAN 5 – Mostly sunny, windy and frigid, high in the mid teens.

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Mostly sunny, high in the low teens.

SUNDAY – JAN 7 – Mostly sunny, high in the low 20s.

MONDAY – JAN 8 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow, high in the upper 30s.

MARINE FORECAST:  A small craft advisory is in effect until 2 a.m. Wednesday morning for northwest winds gusting to 30 knots, seas 3-5 feet. A freezing spray warning is also in effect.

OUTLOOK – No advisories expected Wednesday and Wednesday evening; a gale watch is posted for Thursday morning through Friday afternoon; small craft conditions expected Friday night into Saturday.

Have a nice day!

MONDAY  JANUARY 1, 2018 6:03  A.M.

Happy New Year!

Skies are mostly clear early on this New Year’s Day and temperatures have fallen to 4 degrees in Clifton which is a record low for the date.  Some readings inland have fallen below zero with the lowest reading a chilly -13 in Walpack.  Winds are out of the northwest averaging 5-10 mph.

Despite plenty of sunshine today it will remain bitterly cold and although high temperatures will be a couple of degrees milder than yesterday, the mercury will have a hard time reaching the 20 degree mark.

After another very cold night tonight, afternoon temperatures on Tuesday will be a little higher than today but still be below freezing.

The “warmest” day of the week looks to be on Wednesday when temperatures may climb to near freezing.

A storm is expected to develop offshore Wednesday night into Thursday. At the present time the storm is still expected to remain well enough offshore to give our area any heavy snow but this system still has to be watched in case it comes closer to the coast.

After the storm passes to our north it will help bring down even colder air Friday through next weekend, overnight lows will be near zero with daytime highs only in the low teens.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – JAN 1 – Sunny, high near 20.

TONIGHT – Mostly clear, low around 10.

TUESDAY – JAN 2 – Sunny, high in the mid 20s.

WEDNESDAY – JAN 3 – Mostly sunny, high near 30, chance of snow after midnight.

THURSDAY – JAN 4 – Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow, high in the upper 20s.

FRIDAY – JAN 5 – Mostly sunny, windy and bitterly cold, high in the low teens.

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Sunny and bitterly cold, high in the low teens.

SUNDAY – JAN 7 – Mostly sunny and not quite as frigid, high near 20.

MARINE FORECAST:  A small craft advisory is in effect until 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon for northwest winds gusting to 30 knots, seas 3-5 feet, heavy frozen spray likely.

OUTLOOK – No advisories expected Tuesday night into the day on Wednesday;  small craft advisories expected Wednesday night;  Gales likely Thursday and Friday.

I hope everyone has a safe, healthy and happy New Year!