westislandweather.com

By MLBaron correspondent WEST ISLAND: What was forecast to be a fast moving snow storm last Saturday (January 21, 2012) with the potential of 4 to 6 inches, it dumped twice as much. Because temperatures never went above freezing and the storm tracking west to east it stayed to the south there wasn't a mix with rain that could have lowered the totals. A narrow heavy snow band transited right along the immediate SouthCoast. The flakes began to fall Saturday morning around 630AM lasting into the early evening. The heaviest snow fell after 10AM and continued into much of the afternoon. The light texture of the snow allowed it to accumulate quickly. By 6PM West Island had 12.5" of snow on the ground. Other towns reported similar numbers: Acushnet 11", Mattapoisett 12" New Bedford 12" and Dartmouth at 12.5". Storm statistics from the data log of The West Island Weather Station, Saturday, January 21, 2012: Snow Total: 12.5' Barometer Low: 30.01 High Wind Gust: 23MPH NE Low Temp: 23F High Temp: 31.5F Despite this winter snow storm temperatures soared to 51.6 degrees bringing us back into springlike weather two days later melting most of the snow. This unusually mild winter and lack of snow is in ironic contrast from last year at this time with record breaking amounts of snow and being the coldest winter in 10 years. Experts are suggesting that La Nina - the below normal cooling of the equatorial Pacific (which is a cyclical trend about every 2 years) and a strong Polar Vortex that is keeping most of the Arctic cold air in place up north is contributing to this unseasonal weather pattern on a national level. With 53 more days of Winter to go, one can wonder what more crazy weather surprises will impact the SouthCoast. The first day of Spring arrives on March 20 at 1:14 AM.

Posted by MLBaron on January 27, 2012 at 6:30 AM

1804 Views