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Frost expected to hit parts of Bay State tonight

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 18, 2009 04:40 PM

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Yes, it is the middle of May. But that doesn't mean we're out of the woods for wintry weather.

The National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory tonight for nine counties in Massachuestts: Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Worcester. Heat typically accumulates during the day and is trapped by overhead clouds, said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service bureau in Taunton. But on clear nights like tonight, that heat dissipates quickly, and the temperature can drop dramatically.

Advisories were also issued for parts of New Hampshire, Connecticut. and Rhode Island.

“That’ll lead to radiation cooling, which means that any heating we accumulate during the day just dissipates into the sky, said Foley. "Clear skies and light winds, it allows the day's heating to just rapidly rise.”

Diane Valle, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, said gardeners might want to bring potted plants inside for the night and can use a sheet or newspaper to cover their gardens, preventing frost from accumulating on new plants overnight.

“I guess that’s why they tell people not to start their gardens until Memorial Day," she said. "We get so deceived each and every time, don’t we?”