Latest news with #KenMahan
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Rain again this weekend. Is Boston in a toxic relationship with the weather?
IT'S ALL SO TOTALLY UNFAIR!!! 'It should be a Saturday,' said Jennifer Hatch, a public sector worker on her lunch break, 'but it's Tuesday.' She enjoyed the last of her slushie, and then it was time to head back to — where else — work. Another glorious day mediated through an office window. Advertisement Why are we being taunted by basically everything? Our Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up And making it all worse: the weekend washouts. Since mid March Advertisement On Wednesday, aka a WORK day, the sky hosted a hazy sun and the weather apps on our phones showed rain on Friday and Saturday and clouds for Sunday. 'Is this city gaslighting us?' asked a downtown employee. Are the conspiracy warriors on Reddit right? Are we There are different ways to answer the question. Just to get this out of the way, first let's hear from actual scientists. The weekend rain is due to a 'variable weather pattern,' Globe lead meteorologist Ken Mahan told my colleague Ava Berger. In 2023, when weekend rains were plaguing the East Coast, the New York City publication Hell Gate investigated. ' The take-away: The truth, as with the Karen Read case, depends on which expert you believe. 'A 1998 BUT: In 2007, Pink sticky notes form a message in a window of a sun-dappled office building on Congress Street. These days it seems like the work week is sunny and the weekends are rainy. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff Which leaves us with alternative explanations: Maybe this is payback because our winter wasn't horrible, as NBC Boston meteorologist Advertisement Or perhaps it's Trump! Not content to whack Harvard, now he's coming for our weddings, our golf games, our barbecues. How long until he appoints a telegenic TV meteorologist to head a Department of Ha Ha No Fun on Weekends? Whatever the reason for this terrible weather pattern, there are only two ways out: Either Josh Kraft needs to vow that if we declare him mayor right now he'll reveal why it was all Mayor Wu's fault, and fix this immediately. Or: anyone lucky enough to have a desk job will no longer even need to explain why they're wearing a bathing suit on the Zoom call. In fact, hooky may already be on the rise. On Tuesday, as she lolled on a beach towel in the Public Garden, a Northeastern student confessed that she had called out sick from her job as a certified nursing assistant at a local hospital. 'The UV right now is like a 9 or 10,' she said by way of excuse. Beth Teitell can be reached at
Boston Globe
03-06-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Canadian wildfire smoke spreads into New England late Tuesday and Wednesday
The hazy skies could hinder the Advertisement More than 200 wildfires burn across Central and Western Canada. FIRMS Why are we seeing Canadian wildfire smoke here? Our weather pattern is essentially working as a gear system between air masses. An upper-level trough over the Central United States is steering wildfire smoke south from Canada and across the Midwest and Great Lakes, and as far south as the Gulf Coast on Tuesday. You can see thick gray smoke just east of the bright white clouds across the Great Lakes and into the interior Northeast. You can see the dull gray smoke stretch across the Great Lakes and Interior Northeast. CIRA Meanwhile, a strong pocket of high pressure over the East Coast will flip our flow to a southwesterly direction, tapping into that upper-level flow and wildfire smoke pool, redirecting the smoke through much of New England late Tuesday and Wednesday. Most of the smoke will linger across Central and Northern New England, but Boston will still see some hazy skies. Most of New England will be able to see a fiery red sunrise and sunset. Take a look at the near-surface smoke forecast late Tuesday throughout Wednesday. Advertisement A look at near-surface smoke Tuesday night through all of Wednesday. Pivotal Weather Will air quality deteriorate? The smoke that is coming into our region is not forecast to reach the surface, which is good news for folks who have respiratory challenges, like asthma. The National Weather Service in Norton does not currently have plans to issue any air quality alerts for Wednesday given that our weather pattern should keep most smoke suspended. The higher elevations across Northern New England, which will be much closer to the thicker smoke, may not be as fortunate. There is a 50/50 chance for parts of Northern New England to see air quality reach an unhealthy level, including cities like Burlington, Vt., Plymouth, N.H., and Augusta, Maine. It'll be worth watching how the smoke behaves early Wednesday, but sensitive groups may consider staying indoors, especially if you experience respiratory symptoms during the day Wednesday. As wildfire season ramps up across Canada and the United States, sensitive groups can still be at risk even when inside. 'People can be at risk of exposure to wildfire smoke even when they are indoors. Up to 80 percent of wildfire smoke particles can infiltrate buildings through leaks and gaps,' said Shichao Liu, wildfire expert and professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 'With that in mind, people should consider taking steps to protect themselves not only when they are outdoors, but when they are inside too.' Ken Mahan can be reached at
Boston Globe
03-06-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
The Atlantic sees the first chance for tropical activity off Carolina coast
Advertisement There is a 10 percent chance for a tropical storm to form off the Carolina coast in the next seven days. Boston Globe Simply put, we'll likely not see a tropical storm or hurricane but there is the chance for a subtropical system that could bring large waves and nasty rip currents across the east coast this weekend and into next week. The models suggest the high pressure that is bringing New England clear weather over the next few days will bump this system out to sea. Forecast models suggest this area of low pressure will stay away from the coast over the next week to 10 days. Weather Nerds June tropical storm and hurricane history It's interesting this is the second year in a row that we haven't seen a named storm before the start of the hurricane season. Last year's first named storm was on June 19, but back in 2023, we had a tropical storm named in you read that right. June usually starts slow because sea surface temperatures are still warming and there usually is more Saharan dust floating across the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Saharan dust is very dry and wicks moisture from the atmosphere which is of course needed to spawn storms. Advertisement Of the storms that do form in June, they usually form near the mainland, in the Gulf of Mexico, Western Caribbean, and along the Atlantic coast. Typically during June, tropical storms and hurricanes emerge close to the mainland United States. Boston Globe Since record-keeping began in 1851, there have been 119 named storms during June. Of those named storms, 35 emerged into hurricanes with three turning into major, Category 3 or higher, hurricanes — of which last year's monster, Beryl, was the most recent. Increasing sea surface temperatures may be the reason why at least two named storms have formed in four of the last five Junes. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting 13 to 19 named storms this hurricane season for the Atlantic. This is more than average but less than last year. NOAA predicts an above-average hurricane season for the Atlantic basin. Boston Globe Ultimately, it only takes one devastating landfall to make a season memorable. Ken Mahan can be reached at
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Could the latest Canadian wildfires pump smoke toward New England?
A frontal boundary will pull smoke into the United States over the next few days. Some smoke is expected to pass through New England late Saturday and early Sunday. Pivotal Weather High pressure behind the front with winds 10,000 to 20,000 feet up are pulling the suspended smoke to the surface, sparking air-quality alerts across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. High pressure is falling air, so in this case, the suspended smoke aloft is being dragged down. These thick plumes of smoke are expected to reach as far south as the Gulf Coast this weekend and will push near New England late Saturday and into Sunday. But the good news is that a surface low-pressure system comprised of rising air will prevent most of the smoke from reaching the surface and will likely spare our region from any widespread air-quality issues. Advertisement Some smoke may linger around on Sunday, but it should remain high enough in the sky to avoid causing any respiratory issues for folks who are sensitive to pollution and other airborne particles. There might be a hazy tint to the sky Sunday morning, but that's really about it. Advertisement Particulates from burning trees and brush can enter the lungs and trigger intense coughing. Long-term exposure may lead to further health issues, with children, pregnant people, and the elderly being most at risk. Air quality alerts from wildfire smoke spread across much of the Midwest and all of Michigan. Boston Globe Canada's wildfire season runs May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023, when it choked much of North America, including the Northeast, with dangerous smoke for months. Many of the wildfires this year are burning in the Canadian province of Manitoba, where officials have declared a state of emergency as firefighters try to contain the raging fires. One wildfire in particular that began Monday farther north in Saskatchewan has exploded in size, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. Thousands of Canadians have been ordered to evacuate. Ken Mahan can be reached at
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
What is a nor'easter? This raging New England storm explained
This is the classic setup for nor'easters, a developing low-pressure system tracks below the jet stream and slips offshore before New England, bringing winds from the northeast. Boston Globe Advertisement We've seen this pattern a few times this spring, where a strong Northern Atlantic high-pressure blocks or slows down storms from exiting the Northeast, causing the jet stream to buckle south over the eastern portion of the country. Below you can see how the jet stream is positioned more south today, typical of a classic winter setup, leading to the birth of the nor'easter: The jet stream bowing to the south of New England will allow for a coastal low to develop into a nor'easter on Thursday. Boston Globe Nor'easters can wreak havoc when combining strong winds with heavy precipitation — both rain and snow. The storm usually gains strength over the Gulf of Maine, as the right quadrant of the storm taps into plenty of moisture from the Atlantic, geographically unique as the Gulf Stream funnels warm water north. This can lead to feet of snow during the winter or flooding rainfall that we may see on Thursday. Check out the deep green moisture funneling into the storm. Advertisement The nor'aster will be drawing in plenty of moisture form the Atlantic Ocean. Boston Globe The last significant nor'easter to hit New England during May was back in 2008. Ken Mahan can be reached at
