Sandy Packs Her Bags and Leaves Town This Weekend.

Good Morning, 

As the clean-up efforts following "Sandy" continue during the next few days, the pattern will still be

driven by a long wave trough of low pressure... This 'dip in the jet stream' is going to keep things

unsettled, but we certainly aren't expecting conditions that are even remotely close to what was dished out

by "Sandy" earlier this week... Early this morning, the center of circulation that was once a very 'angry'

hurricane less than 36 hours ago is located over Lake Erie... There isn't much wind to speak of, largely

due to the fact that there isn't any real 'pressure gradient'... The minimum central pressure is about 994

millibars, or 29.35 inches of mercury... The 996 millibar contour is spread out across a fairly broad area of

southern Ontario, upstate New York and much of Pennsylvania...

Of course, when "Sandy" made landfall early Monday night at the Jersey Shore, the gradient was much 'tighter',

and the central pressure was much closer to 945 millibars... With plenty of clouds today, tonight and tomorrow,

there will be a shower on a couple of occasions... Nothing excessive, and most places will pick up a couple of

hundredths of an inch of rain, at most... Temperatures this afternoon should be mostly in the mid and upper 50s...

Even though surface winds will be out of the southwest, which is typically the "warmer source", we must remember that

the beneath the massive upper level low pressure system that still linger over the Great Lakes and in the

Ohio Valley, there's some very chilly air that will be pivoting northeastward during the next 24-36 hours...

The snow which has resulted in 1-3 FEET in portions of the southern Appalachians will start to wind down

later today... But because winds east of the mountains will be light, there won't be any compressional

warming, or a "downsloping" effect that will give temperatures a boost...

Also, just about every forecast

model is showing that the relative humidity will be 80 percent or greater in the mid levels of the

atmosphere... So, without any truly "dry air" above the boundary layer that can get mixed down the

surface, there won't be much sun, and therefore, not much to bolster temperatures... For "trick-or-treaters"

tonight, it will be quite cool... Most temperatures will in the lower 50s by nightfall, and headed for the 40s

tonight... Tomorrow, clouds are expected to break for some sun, but there still will be a couple of widely

separated showers in the area, as the low pressure system that was once "Sandy" starts to move across

western New York state and over Lake Ontario... Most temperatures will be in the mid and upper 50s, and

if some thermometers reach 60 or greater -- it should be considered a "bonus"...

It appears that some of that drier air will finally be able to get mixed down to the surface on Friday, and

although there may be a bit of a breeze developing in the afternoon, with west to southwest winds

averaging 10-20 mph with gusts of up to 25 or even 30 mph possible, this shouldn't hinder the ongoing

efforts in many communities to restore power... Over the weekend, it will turning a bit cooler... Saturday's

temperatures will be mostly in the lower 50s, with some of the higher elevations failing to get out of the

40s... But, it'll be no less than partly sunny.

Have a great day.