SNOW...sort of.

Now that I have your attention...I’ll let you know that there's only a slight chance of snow. First off, let’s talk about the weekend. Looking at the latest GFS run (the pic to the left) it looks like Saturday we’ll see some showers likely by the afternoon and some rain in the evening as that band or rain descends from the north. Some good news is that Sunday looks to be nice at this point for Peterborough. If you live south of the city you may catch a break but don’t hold your breath. Let’s hope that the rain arrives later in the day tomorrow as there is a fundraising yard sale planned to support a remote aboriginal community in the far north in their effort to buy space heaters for school children. It’s a sad story and a great cause so check it out tomorrow at St. Alphonsus Church 1066 Western Avenue (off Clonsilla) from 7am – 3pm. Great deals for a great cause. Check out their group on Facebook for more details.

So now on to that whole snow thing. Having a look at the latest NAM run, that big low you see in the second pic will be right on top of us Monday into Tuesday and is full of moisture having tapped into both the Gulf and the Atlantic. With temperatures hovering around the freezing mark late Monday through the overnight, we could see some mixing and possibly some wet snow. As the temperature climbs into Tuesday it should switch back to rain (yay) and keep in mind it’s only a chance of wet snow.

In short, I hope you enjoyed today and take advantage of the sunshine on Sunday because we could be seeing some wet weather through the start of next week. Have a great weekend! (Sorry about the rain).

It's not all bad...really.

When I mentioned today that we could see some rain on Saturday...well...it didn't go over to well here in the newsroom. But really, it's not all that bad. We need the rain. Big time. We have seen a lot of dry and sunny weather over the last week and with relative humidity in the low 20% range, the threat of grass or brush fires is high. Very high. Yesterday we had some video for you of a grass fire on Pigeon Lake Road and today I had the chance to see first hand the damage caused by a big fire on Television Hill (the former site of CHEX TV). The OPP are investigating that fire as it's suspicious. So rain is welcome thing.

Now on to the forecast for Saturday. To the left is a shot of the latest run of the NAM forecast model for Saturday evening. A ridge of high pressure splits that complex system and really keeps the bulk of activity out of the region. The bottom end of this series of lows slides southeast and will likely be a big rain maker for the Carolinas, but some showers are possible here in Peterborough late in the day on Saturday from the northern portion of that system. The current run shows us getting clipped by that band of rain (highlighted in the pic) on the backside of a low, the same low that could bring showers to Haliburton and Bancroft as early as tomorrow night. The good news is that the front passes quickly and should clear into Sunday.

The further north you live the more likely you are to see rain on Saturday. Here in Peterborough, you can expect to see more cloud than sun with showers late in the day and if you live in the Durham region, things look to be nice with a mix of sun and cloud. I'll keep you posted if there are any changes...good or bad.

Oh...and if you have any info on that grass fire on Television Hill, please call the OPP or Crimestoppers.

Living The "HIGH" Life

You've gotta love this HIGH we're on. Or should I say the HIGH that's on us...er...over us...whatever. It's great. This area of high pressure has really made for a great sunny streak which started over the long weekend and continues to act as our defensive line. At the start of the week a very charged system that brought high winds, severe thunderstorms and even tornados to parts of the southeastern U.S. was literally held at bay because of this high. Aside from some showers in Southwestern Ontario and some cloudy peiods as far north as Oshawa really no harm done. Well now there is another system that extends from Manitoba down through the Midwestern U.S. that is on our doorstep but thanks again to our friendly "Blue H" the brakes have been firmly applied. Looking at the latest NAM forecast model by Friday a ridge of high pressure breaks this system apart with the some showers likely to affect areas north of Lake Superior but no rain this weekend here in Peterborough. As for that line of activity you see southwest of our region. Well its track is slow going and I'll keep tabs on that by monitoring the latest run. In short, if this model holds true, the sunny streak should continue through the weekend. Great news for those affected by local flooding but keep an eye out for grass fires.

I'm Blogging

Well the webmaster here at CHEX TV (Lord Brian) emerged from his ivory tower (which is fully networked) the other day and asked if I would be interested in blogging. I accepted the offer and, after a rigorous training program involving trained monkeys, have been given access to the CHEX Newswatch Weather Blog. Huzzzzah!

Over the next few days you'll be able to use this blog as another resource for local weather info and some insight into the life of your local weather guy...me. That is after I figure a few things out about managing a blog.

Keep checking back for updates soon!

Cheers,

Jay