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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMonster storm to blast East Coast
8|Monster storm to blast East Coast before polar vortex uncorks tremendous cold late this weekFirst, a very large and powerful storm will hammer coastal locations from Georgia to Maine with ice and snow. By Thursday, the exploding storm will, in many ways, resemble a winter hurricane, battering easternmost New England with potentially damaging winds in addition to blinding snow.
Forecasters are expecting the storm to become a so-called bomb cyclone because its pressure is predicted to fall so fast, an indicator of explosive strengthening. The storm could rank as the most intense over the waters east of New England in decades at this time of year.
By the time the storm reaches the ocean waters east of Long Island and eastern New England on Thursday, it will be explosively intensifying.
In Boston, the Weather Service is predicting not only four to seven inches of snow but also winds strong enough to bring down branches. Throughout eastern Massachusetts and eastern Maine, the combination of wind and snow could create blizzard conditions, especially if the storm wobbles west.
Our biggest concern is the potential for damaging wind gusts especially near the southeast New England coast, the Weather Service tweeted. Power outage risk followed by arctic air Fri/Sat a big concern!
The storms enormous circulation will help draw several lobes of the polar vortex, the zone of frigid air encircling the North Pole, over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by Friday and Saturday. Wicked cold air sourced from Siberia, the North Pole and Greenland will all converge on the region.
Temperatures are forecast to be 20 to 40 degrees below normal, the coldest of the winter so far.
dhol82
(9,353 posts)maranadem
(54 posts)Afternoon temps dropping into the low 80s
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)I wnat to hibernate indoors as soon as it reaches 75. I don't tolerate heat at all.
Meanwhile in this Polar Vortex, I can go outside without a coat on.
maranadem
(54 posts)We moved here from the bay area about seven years ago. When we got here anything above 70 was suntan weather. Now, if its in the low 70s Im running for my down jacket. We can easily spot folks like you when you visit in the winter though. Youre the crazy folks dunning around in tank tops, shorts and flip flops when the temps are in the 50s.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)I've always hated summer and warm weather. I'd love to move to a place that doesn't have it. My body does not tolerate heat well.
You couldn't pay me a winning powerball ticket to visit a warm climate in the winter. That would be like telling a summer person to go visit Antarctica in July.
maranadem
(54 posts)I like snow on postcards, otherwise Ill take a beach in the tropics anyday.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)Among my group of friends, my nickname is Elsa (Frozen).
malaise
(269,054 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Siwsan
(26,268 posts)saying she much preferred hurricanes to our winter storms. Oops.
Clarity2
(1,009 posts)I thought it was just a plain vanilla snowstorm.
Some computer models are projecting a minimum central air pressure of below 950 millibars at its peak, which would be nearly unheard of for this part of the world outside of a hurricane, wrote Mashables Andrew Freedman. For comparison, Hurricane Sandy had a minimum central pressure of about 946 millibars when it made its left hook into New Jersey in 2012.
Cant imagine losing power in this deep freeze. I dont even want to think about it. Weve never, knock on wood, lost power during a winter storm, but uh, this seems different.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)February. I have been sick w/ a terrible cold for the past 5 days. I dragged myself into work today and they sent me home since I was just coughing and blowing my nose non-stop. Luckily, I can wfh so I might just stay home tomorrow and Thursday so I don't have to deal w/ the storm and so I can hopefully recover from this cold.