Sunshine starts our first day of March but clouds will fill back in this afternoon with the risk of a rain shower or two. There could be a few wet snow flakes over the higher terrain. Temperatures will remain typical for this time of year in the lower 40s. Since March begins today I thought it would be fun to look at some of the weather statistics we know about for the 3rd month of the year. March means big changes and two of the biggest occur with light and temperature. I might not get the forecast right every day in March, but I do know that we will gain a lot of light. On March 1st the sun sets at 5:34; on the 31st it sets at 7:09. Of course, 1 hour of that afternoon increase is due to daylight saving time, which starts on Sunday the 10th. If you are a morning person like me you won’t like the sunrises being back to after 7a.m. for a few
days. We will have to wait until the end of the month to have our sunrises back to around 6:30. All told, we gain just about 90 minutes of daylight this month and, after the 17th, the nights will once again be shorter than the days.
I'll be updating my weather forecasts on Twitter at @growingwisdom please follow me there.

For many today starts as the coolest morning of the late summer season with several spots from Springfield to Taunton in the 30s. There is a frost advisory up for northern sections of Maine, and New Hampshire as the growing season nears its end. Sunshine will boost temperatures quickly today as highs reach the middle 70s under a cloud free sky. A large and fairly intense storm will move through the Ohio valley Tuesday and into Canada on Wednesday. This storm will bring wind, rain, humidity and warm temperatures to the area before we cool off and dry out for later in the week. For frequent weather updates or to ask questions you can follow me on Twitter at @growingwisdom

Hurricane Isaac has made landfall in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish this evening and the storm will continue to move slowly along the coast over the next day. There has been 106-mph wind gust recorded on an rig in the Gulf. Storm surges up to 8 feet have been seen in the area and worse is likely to occur overnight and into Wednesday. The biggest issue with this storm is going to be the slow movement and the large amounts of rain that will fall as a result. Some places will see over a foot of rain between now and Thursday morning. The two images below show the clouds and the rain associated with Isaac. Notice on the radar how clearly the eye is visible. That is the the area in the middle that looks like a donut hole.

Over 50 million people were under severe watches last night. There ended up being one tornado in New York state, and many other reports of wind and hail damage to our south. The good news is that the severe weather never made it into Massachusetts or points north. This afternoon the boundary that helped create the severe weather is stalled just to our south. This boundary will remain in basically the same place for the next three days and be the focal point for occasional rounds of showers and thunderstorms. It will not rain all the time, but when it does, the rain could be heavy.

All the severe weather is staying to the south of Massachusetts overnight. Periods of rain, some of it heavy, is the only weather problem through morning. There may be some street flooding in areas that receive a lot of rain. During Friday the rain will end but there is still the risk of a more showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. It will be warm and muggy. The weekend isn't looking stellar to start but improves dramatically Sunday. If I had to rank the upcoming weekend on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being best, we are going to be about a 2 on Saturday and an 8 on Sunday. It does appear that next week we will see more sunshine and a period of drier air. Do you have weather question or thought about the blog? I would love to hear from you or just have you follow my updates on Twitter @growingwisdom

Microburst, it seems like that is the new buzz word meteorologists are pushing. However, the word isn't new, I think we are just hearing it more as meteorologists are using scientific terms more often than a few years ago. I think that is a good thing. Very often after severe weather moves through an area you hear that the damage was caused by a microburst, not a tornado. People who experience a severe microburst often think they have been in a small tornado, but in reality they haven't. A microburst forms very differently from a tornado, but the damage can be significant nonetheless. When thunderstorms form, warm and moist air rises from the ground to help create the storm. Air that rises needs to be replaced. Some of the replaced air comes from the sides of the storm and some comes from above the ground. As the storm matures, the colder air at the top of the storm is pulled down towards the earth. Heavy rain and hail can drag down more cold air down from the upper parts of the storm. The air can start rushing down at terrific speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. In a matter of minutes, the air moving towards the earth will hit the ground. The air moving downward is called a downburst, a small downburst is called a microburst. Either a downburst or a microburst can cause damage.
Have questions about the weather in your area? Please follow me on Twitter at @growingwisdom and check out my latest videos at GrowingWisdom.com

The record high temperatures for the next week are in the upper 90s to near 100 and while we are not going to see record breaking heat, it is going to be hot for the next 7 days. In a pattern such as this, each day will be slightly different. The humidity will still be tolerable today and even Saturday but increase for Sunday and Monday. Along with the increase in humidity will come the risk of showers and storms. Next week looks hot and humid with a chance for storms again by Thursday. I try to update the blog every day or two but for more frequent updates you can follow me on Twitter at @growingwisdom

Spectacular weather will be with us for tomorrow with moderate humidity and temperatures quite warm. We will be in the upper 80s to around 90 tomorrow from about 12PM through 5PM. There will be some sea breezes along coastal roads in the afternoon so parts of the North Shore, Cape Cod and Islands will fall back or remain in the upper 70s. Although tomorrow is going to be warm it won't be the extreme heat that has been going on to our south and west. A piece of that heat will arrive for a one day visit on Saturday before quickly being pushed out to sea on Sunday. As the heat arrives Saturday there will be some clouds and also the chance for a few storms Saturday afternoon and evening. Sunday will clear north to south with lowering humidity and warm temperatures.

The week on balance continues to look super for all summer activity. But, the next 7 days are not without possible weather issues. As you have been hearing, the Midwest has been under a brutal heat wave with triple digit temperatures and humidity. We have had a few days of our own heat and humidity but nothing extreme. Later this week, more heat will move into our area for a few days, but it doesn't look to be prolonged. Tomorrow continues to be my pick of the next 5 days with low humidity, warm temperatures, sunshine and nearly a zero percent chance of rain. Speaking of rain, there is the chance for storms again this afternoon. Some of these could be strong, but there the atmosphere is not conducive to severe weather.

As of 4pm the temperature at Logan airport had fallen back to 91F from 96F in the 3PM hour. This means we have broken the record. I was two degrees off on my prediction for the high. At any rate, this was still a very hot, record setting, afternoon. There is a heat advisory in effect for much of the region till just before sunset. The area shaded in orange shows the counties under the advisory. In addition to the high temperatures, the air quality is quite poor, especially over the south shore and Cape. If you have asthma or other breathing issues, this might be a tough day outside and a good one to find an air conditioned spot.