Our poor heaters, and soon our wallets.
This December has been relentless with round after round of frigid cold air engulfing Boston and most of New England through the first week of the month. The city has experienced an average temperature of over 7 degrees below normal this past week. That’s quite remarkable on the stat sheet, but we’ve certainly felt that difference, too.
What’s even more eyebrow-raising is that this weeklong stretch is only the 30th coldest for the first week of December on record. Boston averaged about 32 degrees while the record for the same stretch stands at 23 degrees, set in 1886. Outside of the city, much of New England is experiencing a best-10 coldest December.
Another quick-moving blast of Arctic air, driven again by a shifting polar vortex, will continue to spread through New England into Monday evening, setting up a bone-chilling Tuesday morning. Another handful of records could be set for daily lows. Boston is expected to see temperatures drop over 20 degrees below normal to start the day, with the morning commute in the teens. But light winds will be strong enough to make it feel even more teeth-chattering out there — with wind chills in the single digits.
Under strong high pressure, any weak heating from the sun on Monday will escape quickly on Monday night, while Arctic air sinks to the surface. It won’t be until late Tuesday morning when the high pressure slides off the coast and restores a southerly flow that temperatures will rebound.
These maps show what different parts of New England can expect over the next 24 hours and then into next week:
The bitter cold keeps on coming
It does not appear that the cold is going to let up for any hope of a December warm spell. The jet stream is too erratic, and pockets of cold Canadian air, whether linked to the polar vortex or not, continue to push into the Northeast. This will appear to be the case this weekend and into next week.
Taking a peek at how the polar vortex is behaving, it does appear that air from the stratosphere will mix with some of the surface air (deep purple and pink) across the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast, to close the weekend and at the start of next week.
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Ken Mahan can be reached at ken.mahan@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.
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