By Rich Hoffman

For Long Island, October was cooler and wetter than normal. This was also the trend for the United States. Thanks to stormy weather and troughs, we saw alot of clouds (blocking the sun, cooler temperatures) and storms providing us with precipitation.

At Islip MacArthur Airport:
* Temperatures where .8 degrees below normal
*Precipitation was 5.60″ , which was 1.60 inches above normal
* The warmest temperature was 74 on the 4th — the coldest was 34 on the 20th
* On the 24th and 28th, we had more than 1 inch of precipitation

The United States had temperatures 4 degrees below normal, which ranked October as the 3rd coldest on record. The U.S. also recorded its wettest October in the 115 year period of record keeping.

More on the record cold and wet weather for the United States:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?report=national&year=2009&month=10&submitted=Get%20Report

By Rich Hoffman

Believe it or not, winter weather is just around the corner.  Our first snowfall usually occurs in November with our first major snowfall the first week of December.  Now is the time to learn about winter weather hazards and how to prepare for them. Don’t forget you can always track winter storms on news12, news12.com, and Channel 612.

The five National Weather Service (NWS)  Offices that serve NY State will join the NY State Emergency Management Office (NYSEMO) and promote education and preparedness for winter weather during the week of October 25th.  Here is the link to the National Weather Service winter weather web page at:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/okx/winterweather.php

Here is NOAA’s first Winter Weather Outlook, which was issued on October 15th:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20091015_winteroutlook.html
This outlook will be updated in mid November.

Looking at the above link, it calls for normal precipitation and normal to slightly below normal temperatures. Our normal snowfall for Long Island ranges from 25-31 inches.

Here is the winter outlook for Long Island from the Farmer’s Almanac:
http://www.almanac.com/WEATHER/LONGRANGE
“The coldest periods will occur in early to mid- and late January and mid-February. While precipitation will be below normal, slightly above-normal snowfall will occur in many parts of the region. Watch for snow around Thanksgiving, with other snowy periods in mid-January and mid- and late February”

My personal opinion, I think, is overall the temperatures will be below normal.  In January, temperatures will peak above normal. I think we will see above normal snowfall with at least one major snowstorm with snow totals above 10 inches.

Here is a link to previous snowstorms: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/okx/stormtotals.html

By Rich Hoffman

It’s October and temperatures are getting colder. Does this mean snow? For Long Island, not so much.  The first ever measurable snow here, according to the records at Brookhaven National Lab(BNL), is October 17th. This does not include snow flurries.  Measureable snowfall is considered .01″ or greater.  The most snowfall ever recorded at BNL in October was one inch back on October 26th 1962.

If you’re looking for major snow events you’re going to have to wait for December.  Here is a list of snowfall for each month going back to 1947 at BNL. Monthly Snowfall – http://www.bnl.gov/weather/4cast/MonthlySnowfall.htm

Here is a list of major snowfall over the past few years–you may remember some of them.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/okx/stormtotals.html

The picture shows typical early snowfall totals. Most of Long Island sees 20-25 inches of snow a year.

By Rich Hoffman

Fall begins this Tuesday September 22nd at 5:18 pm. The Autumnal Equinox occurs when the sun’s direct rays are over the Equator and the Earth sees 12 hours of Daylight and 12 hours of Darkness.
See graphic on left.

The sun is our energy source, so as the Earth rotates and tilts around the sun, the incoming radiation(energy) changes and this is why we see our different seasons. In the Summer (summer solstice), the sun’s direct rays hit the Tropic of Cancer, and this makes places like the northeast warm and our daylight is about 15 hours. As the earth continues to move around the sun the rays will move from the Tropic of Cancer in the Summer to the Tropic of Capricorn in the winter. The Northeast receives less radiation(daylight) and hence the colder temperatures.

This is also the time of year when the leaves start to change and it can be a beautiful sight. The leaves are starting to show signs of color in Northern New York and New England and we will start to see a change here on Long Island by the first week of October.

Normal Peak colors
List of foliage Reports.

Vermont – New York – Maine

Connecticut - Northeast Foliage Reports

Massachusetts – New Hampshire

By Rich Hoffman

We have seen a lot of interesting weather over the past two months. One thing we have not seen is a Tropical Storm.  The Tropical Season started June 1st and we have not had a named storm yet.  We have seen two tropical depressions.  The first Tropical Depression formed on May 29th and the second formed on August 11th.

The Tropical season runs through November 30th so we stil have plenty of time to see tropical activity. The peak of the Tropical Season is around September 10th. For long Island, the peak time of the year is around the 3rd week in September.

The last Hurricane to hit Long Island was Gloria in September 1985.

Tropical Terms:
TROPICAL DEPRESSION – an organized area of low pressure where sustained surface winds are 38 mph or less.

TROPICAL STORM – a strong area of low pressure associated with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph. It is at this point a tropical cyclone gets a name.

HURRICANE – maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or greater

For more on Hurricanes:  National Hurricane Center:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/