Happy Earth Day!
The WBZ NEXT Weather team has been working hard for the last several weeks in preparation for this day and this week! We will have a new, unique climate-related story each day at 5pm this week culminating in a 30 minute Earth Week Special airing on WSBK at 9pm Friday and on WBZ at 1pm Sunday!
Tonight: Walden Pond – Jacob Wycoff story
Henry David Thoreau, widely regarded as one of America’s best writers, is also contributing to scientific research. His book ‘Walden’ is being used by a local professor to study how flora and fauna in this area have adapted or even gone extinct due to climate change over the last 180 years.
Lot’s of interesting weather/climate and astronomical related events going on this week!
POLLEN:
This is about as bad as it gets. Tree pollen is spiking and will be in the “very high” category all week long.
Currently, the highest tree pollens present are Alder, Juniper and Poplar.
As you can see, April and May are peak tree pollen seasons here in New England with a dip in summer before the weed season emerges in August.
If it seems like allergies are getting worse, well there is some data behind that…at the very least, the pollen season is getting longer thanks to a warmer climate.
In the Boston area, the pollen season has lengthened by nearly 2 weeks in the last 50 years.
FROST/FREEZE:
Temperatures in the 20s and 30s are not all that uncommon in the early mornings of late April, especially in the ‘burbs.
The average last frost in the 495 area/belt comes in the first 10 days of May. Farther north and west, into Worcester county and southern New Hampshire, the average last frost is not until mid to late May!
So, the forecast this week should not come as a big surprise…we will have several nights with frost/freeze chances.
Frosts are likely in the suburbs Tuesday and Friday morning.
Thursday morning looks to be the coldest of the week…temperatures will bottom out in the 20s north and west of Boston, bordering on a freeze.
Clearly it is TOO EARLY to plant anything that is not hardy. The general rule outside of Boston is to wait until Mother’s Day.
ASTRONOMICAL HIGHLIGHTS:
The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaked earlier this morning, however there will be some “leftovers” later tonight.
The good news…skies will be clear of clouds.
The bad news…the nearly full “pink” Moon will be out in full glory overnight and will certainly wash out some of the brightness of the shooting stars.
Bottom line, I wouldn’t plan my night around the Lyrid’s. If you happen to be up late tonight or early tomorrow, take a few minutes and see what you can see!
One thing that I can guarantee you will be able to see in the skies overhead is the International Space Station! This is a great flyby overnight. It will glide across our sky between 4:55-5:01am early on Tuesday. It will be nice and high in the sky and again, clear viewing as far as clouds go.
Last but not least…The weather!
This week will be fairly quiet once again.
Temperatures will be generally around the normal (which is close to 60 degrees right now).
The only chance of rain this week is on Wednesday and this will not be a major storm or significant soaker.
Expect some showers, heaviest in the afternoon, and perhaps a few rumbles of thunder.
Click here for Westford snow storm data and past totals or select “Winter Snowfall“ under “Pages” on the left hand side.
For more up to date forecast information follow me on Twitter (@terrywbz) or follow the WBZ weather team on Facebook, search WBZWeather
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