Latest news with #FrancisTarasiewicz
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
May 2025 was one of wettest on record in Mass. And yet, Cape Cod is still in a drought.
Drenched. That's how everyone probably felt last month. And that would make sense, because it was one of the wettest months of May in Massachusetts history. According to the National Weather Service, the wettest May in Boston was in 1954 with 13.38 inches, and the wettest May in Worcester was in 1984, when 9.94 inches of rain fell on the city. Overall, last month was considered to be top-five of all time in the Bay State regarding rainfall. Where did it fall on that list? Meteorologist Francis Tarasiewicz of the National Weather Service branch in Norton, MA said 7.25 inches of rain fell on average in the state during the month of May. He added that amount makes last month the fifth wettest May in Massachusetts history. He stressed that different parts of the state saw different amounts of precipitation in May. "It was an extremely wet month, that's for sure," Tarasiewicz said. The following totals are from the website. 2024: 4.82 inches 2023: 2.25 inches 2022: 1.32 inches 2021: 4.92 inches 2020: 2.21 inches 2019: 3.35 inches 2018: 1.90 inches 2017: 3.45 inches 2016: 2.83 inches In 2006, the Boston area saw 12.48 inches of rain in the month of May, the most since 1954. According to the Weatherstem website, "The official 24-hour rainfall record for the state of Massachusetts is 18.15 inches observed at Westfield, MA on (Aug. 18-19), 1955 was a result of Hurricane Diane." Recent rainfall has ended the long drought in Massachusetts in most of the state. In May, the state declared that only two parts of the Bay State remain in droughts, a significant improvement from earlier this last year and last fall when the state was dealing with a high number of wildfires. As of last month, only the Southeast region of the Bay State was at a Level 1 (mild drought), while the Cape Cod region was at Level 2 (significant drought). Cape Cod is the only part of Massachusetts that is in a drought status at this time. The U.S. Drought Monitor map indicates that the majority of Cape Cod is in a "moderate drought" status, while the upper Cape and a small part of Plymouth County are "abnormally dry." The map also shows that Martha's Vineyard is abnormally dry, with Nantucket in a moderate drought. Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Southwest wind 6 to 10 mph. Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Friday: A slight chance of showers after 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. South wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Friday night: A chance of showers after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Saturday night: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday: A chance of showers before 10 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming west after midnight. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: May 2025 was one of MA's wettest. What's Cape Cod's weekend forecast?
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why this Franklin County town gets so much rain
CONWAY, Mass. (WWLP) – The showers earlier this week gave one Franklin County town over two and a half inches of rain in a single day. The heavy rain and high winds also took down trees and power lines in the area. Conway is no stranger to wet weather. 22News spoke with residents in the area to see how they deal with the threat of flash floods on a weekly basis. Weeklong rain in western Mass. increases risk of basement flooding Rain came to the Pioneer Valley in a big way this weekend, bringing consistent showers from the weekend through Tuesday. Conway saw particularly heavy rain, recording 2.54 inches in a single day. National Weather Service Meteorologist Francis Tarasiewicz described how this rain is well ahead of schedule. 'We've actually seen in the first week of May more rainfall at that site, at 5.18 inches, than we did for the entire month of April, 4.38 inches there,' Tarasiewicz said. 'And you know, around this time, the normal rainfall's 4.05 inches for the month of May, so we're running well above average.' Conway's geography at the foot of the Berkshires allows condensed air to form into rain clouds, thus its wetter than wetter-than-normal climate. While the extra rainfall keeps Conway very green throughout the year, it also poses dangers, like taking down trees near major roadways. The town of less than 2,000 people saw record rain in July of 2023, with over 21 inches during the month and 7.54 inches in one week. This led to massive floods and washed out roadways. Mike O'Connell is a 50-year resident of the town. He recounted how the people reacted during this time. 'There was a lot of roads washed out and had to find new routes around town,' O'Connell said. 'But everybody kind of got together and help themselves and helped each other, and made the town better.' Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
Axios
04-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
What we know about the NOAA cuts in New England
The federal cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may strike a blow to animal and weather research conducted in New England. The big picture: NOAA, the latest federal agency caught in DOGE and Elon Musk's crosshairs, is central to weather and climate research, especially as climate change causes and exacerbates extreme weather. The federal government said it was cutting 800 probational employees at NOAA. One of them was Francis Tarasiewicz, a meteorologist under the National Weather Service in Massachusetts, NBC Boston reported. The latest: Two major centers for weather forecasting will soon have their leases canceled, and others across the country could be affected, sources told Axios. Facilities in East Falmouth and Narragansett, Rhode Island, appear on a list of properties sent to NOAA that are intended for lease cancellations. Yes, but: These cancellations aren't a done deal (at least not yet). The lease terminations have not appeared on DOGE's "Wall of Receipts." The database did show a lease cancellation for a NOAA facility in Barre, Vermont, with an annual lease savings of $9,310. Axios' calls to the East Falmouth and Narragansett facilities went unanswered Tuesday. The federal government also cut funding to the Maine Sea Grant — the only state to have its sea grant revoked, WBUR and Maine Public reported. Threat level: The cuts to grant programs and support may affect research conducted by the New England Aquarium, a spokesperson said. The aquarium conducts aerial surveys and works with NOAA on responding to changes to biodiversity and trends in the North Atlantic right whale population. The aquarium and NOAA also work together on curating the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, a photo database that tracks all sightings of the endangered species. Aquarium leaders say they worry the cuts could affect partnerships that enable them to study animals like the right whales and rescue animals like endangered sea turtles. What they're saying: "A healthy ocean and a habitable planet need scientists, the government and private industry to work together to address threats the ocean faces for the future of our planet," Vikki N. Spruill, the aquarium's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Snow is in the forecast for Wednesday. How much to expect on the Cape.
Massachusetts is expected to some snowfall on Wednesday, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service's Boston office, including on the Cape. A NWS meteorologist said Monday that a weather system known as an Alberta Clipper is expected to pass over the region from Canada on Wednesday, bringing with it light snow that could accumulate several inches in Massachusetts. "A wide spread coating to an inch is starting to look more likely, with of 2-3 inches possible especially near and north of the MA pike," NWS meteorologists wrote in the latest area forecast on Monday. Francis Tarasiewicz, a NWS meteorologist, said snow is expected to begin in Massachusetts during the early morning hours on Wednesday and will wrap up by that evening. "That's going to be occurring during the morning commute on Wednesday, so may have some travel impacts associated with it," Tarasiewicz said. Wednesday's weather system is expected to bring a few inches of snowfall accumulation to Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service. Cape Cod is expected to see at most two inches of snow. The outer cape is expected to see the most snowfall, while Hyannis is forecasted to recieve less than an inch. Most of the state is currently forecast to see one to two inches of snow, while the western part of the state could see higher totals. "We're expecting light accumulations statewide, a little bit more in the northern part of the state, but still between about one to three inches of snow or so," said Francis Tarasiewicz, a NWS meterologist. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: How much will it snow on Cape Cod? See forecast map for Wednesday
