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!

SUNDAY  DECEMBER 31, 2017  6:03 A.M.

We have mostly clear skies early on this last morning of 2017 and temperatures once again are very cold with readings ranging from the low teens in the Clifton area down to the single digits further inland, there is a light northwest wind.

Arctic high pressure extending from the northern Great Plains into our area will give us bitterly cold weather today through Tuesday morning, daytime highs today and on New Year’s Day will be in the teens with overnight lows Monday and Tuesday will drop down to the single digits.

A brief moderation of the air mass during the day Tuesday extending into Wednesday but highs should stay below freezing.

A storm is expected to develop somewhere off our coast Wednesday night into Thursday, at this time models are indicating that the storm will stay well offshore , we should have a better handle on what will occur by tomorrow afternoon as the models will have better sampling of the data.

Following the storm  even colder weather is anticipated Friday into next weekend.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – DEC 31 – Mostly sunny, high in the upper teens.

TONIGHT – Mostly clear, low around 5.

NEW YEAR’S DAY – JAN 1 – Sunny, high in the upper teens.

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

WEDNESDAY – JAN 3 – Mostly sunny, high near 30, chance of snow at night.

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

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

SATURDAY – JAN 6 – Mostly sunny and continued frigid, high in the mid teens.

MARINE FORECAST:  A small craft advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday evening for northwest winds gusting to 30 knots, seas 3-5 feet.  Freezing spray likely.

OUTLOOK – Small craft advisories possible on Tuesday morning; no advisories expected Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday;  possible gales on Thursday with the coastal storm.

Have a nice day and if you are going out bundle up!

SATURDAY  DECEMBER 30, 2017  5:57 A.M.

Skies have become cloudy early on this Saturday morning and temperatures range from the middle teens in the Clifton area down to the single digits inland; winds are light.

A weak disturbance will give us some light snow beginning around 10 a.m and tapering off to snow showers this afternoon, accumulations of  dusting to two inches are expected.

Following the storm a strong northwest wind of cold Arctic air will again be with us, daytime highs tomorrow will only be in the teens and probably drop to the single digits by the time the ball drops at Times Square.   Very cold New Year’s day and Tuesday with a slight moderation on Wednesday and we should stay dry.

Still watching for a coastal low to affect our area on Thursday, most of the models still have the storm well enough offshore to give us any significant snow but that may change as we get closer to the event.

Frigid weather again Friday into next weekend.

THE FORECAST:

TODAY – DEC 30 – Cloudy with light snow developing around 10 a.m., high in the mid 20s.

TONIGHT – Snow showers ending around 7 p.m.  low around 10, total accumulations a dusting to 2 inches.

SUNDAY – DEC 31 – Sunny, high around 20.

NEW YEAR’S DAY – JAN 1 – Sunny, high near 20.

TUESDAY – JAN 2 – Mostly sunny, high in the low 20s.

WEDNESDAY – JAN 3 – Mostly sunny, high near 30.

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

FRIDAY – JAN 5 – Mostly sunny and very cold high only in the upper teens.

MARINE FORECAST:  TODAY – West winds to 14 knots and increasing, seas 1 -2 feet.  A small craft advisory has been posted effective between 4 p.m. this afternoon through 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

OUTLOOK – No advisories expected Tuesday and Wednesday.

Have a nice day!