End of Winter?

Odd thing to say on a morning that saw most streets become skating rinks isn't it?  I heeded my own advice and postponed my normal Saturday morning activities until around lunch time when roads cleared and temperatures got just above freezing.  If you were out earlier, it wasn't too pretty. 

However, I am talking about the Friday storm that is blossoming on the models.  There is a generally consensus amongst meteorologists that a winter pattern will break with one, late, major storm.  This potential end of the week storm might just be that one.

There is another week of winter weather before temperatures look like they might get into the 50's by next week.  I think that would be a welcomed feel for just about everybody.  And with winter appearing to be headed for the door, I will be diving into this last month head first with nothing left to lose.  I'm talking about looking at all the models including the very elusive Euro, North American including Canadian and the rest of the world.  If winter is going out, I'm going to make the most of it. 

The first system is set to move in Monday night or Tuesday morning.  In looking around at other forecasts it seems like there is a call for a start as rain or rain/snow mix.  My personal thinking is it is going to be all snow  throughout the Valley.  The heavier snow, if you want to call it that, is lining up along the interior mountains.  I'd basically expect a couple of inches to fall.

The Thursday-Friday storm is really the one on the radar of anybody following weather this week.  It has a potential to be a big storm that delivers snow to a healthy portion of the east coast.  Cold air will be in place so that won't be a problem.  The only thing now will be to watch the dancing of all the models.  The GFS does its same thing that it has done with virtually every single storm this year and that is take it out to sea.  Or in other words, it brings the storm through the south, turns it north over the Carolina's and then has it exit into the Atlantic.  The Euro brings the storm up the coast bringing our area snow but keeps the heaviest precipitation off the southern coast of New Jersey.  This is based off the latest runs from tonight.  Generally this season, the Euro has been more accurate further out and the GFS slowly trends the storm north and west.

What happens will only be determined in the upcoming days.  Regardless, snow will be in the forecast for at least one more week.

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For this last month of winter I will be using a professional site with more models and diagrams than I could possibly ever go through.  Out of respect for their privacy rules, I will not be posting any maps or models from their site.  I will be posting maps that I have previously been using.  This week should test my ability to describe things that others will not be able to see in a way that is understandable.  I'm ready for the challenge.  Bring on one more storm!