Published: March 20, 2008 11:07 am         

Weather Watch

By MARK HANOK

Although it may seem like this has been a colder than normal March so far, temperatures this month have averaged very close to normal in Otsego County. In fact, temperatures have averaged one to two degrees above normal not far to the west and south of our region. This is a classic example of how different the actual weather can be from how we perceive the weather.

Typically, by the third week of March, there have already been at least a few sunny and very mild days, with temperatures well up in the 50s and even low 60s. Except for March 3, when the high was 51 degrees at our weather station in Otego, highs have been only in the 30s or low 40s each day. But the normal highs are only in the low 40s for the middle of March in Otsego County.

Temperatures have been surprisingly consistent, with very little day-to-day change, and since most days have been above freezing and nights have been cold, this could turn out to be the best maple-sugaring season in many years.

During the first week of the spring season, there’s no very mild weather in sight, as a northwesterly flow will continue aloft, and temperatures will be slightly below normal. At the same time, a generally dry weather pattern will prevail, with no major storms anywhere in sight.

On Friday, as a major storm lifts northward to eastern Canada, skies will be partly sunny, with brisk northwesterly winds and a few snow showers; highs will be from 35 to 40 degrees. Although cold air will be in place, the Easter weekend will feature mostly sunny skies. On Saturday and Sunday, highs will be in the mid to upper 30s, but it will seem warmer in the strong early spring sunshine.

On Monday, a storm system will slide across the mid- Atlantic states and bring the chance of light snow, with highs only 33 to 38 degrees. Skies will be partly sunny on Tuesday with highs around 40 degrees.

The combination of high pressure over Quebec and a weak warm front over western New York brought a southerly flow of milder air on Thursday, and skies were partly sunny in the Cooperstown area, with highs in the low 40s.

On Friday, high pressure pushed east of New England while low pressure moved northeastward to the Ohio Valley.

Well to the north of a warm front moving through southern Pennsylvania, clouds took over in our area, and light rain began during the early afternoon and continued through the evening;

highs were in the low 40s. The clouds and rain very conveniently lifted to the west and north of the lower Hudson Valley, leaving southeastern New York with partly sunny skies, and highs in the middle 50s.

Temperatures were well above normal once again from the western Great Plains to Texas, and eastward to the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states — including highs in the mid-90s in central Texas.

Late in the evening, as a storm system moved across the Deep South, severe thunderstorms moved across northern Georgia, including a tornado in the city of Atlanta, causing considerable damage. This was the first time in recorded weather history that a tornado occurred in downtown Atlanta.

A powerful storm tracked eastward through Tennessee on Saturday, pulling very warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and the mercury soared to 85 degrees at Montgomery, Ala. The storm caused a variety of severe weather to the south and east of the low, including severe thunderstorms and over 25 tornadoes, including Georgia and eastern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina.

In the Western Catskills and the Cooperstown area, a large upper-level trough over northern New York maintained seasonably cool weather.

After a dusting of snow early in the morning, skies were mostly cloudy with occasional sunshine; highs were in the low 40s. As a storm system moved well to the east of Long Island early Sunday morning, there was only a light dusting of snow in Otsego County. The storm intensified as it moved far out to sea during the afternoon, bringing increasing northerly winds and wrap-around cloudiness to the Western Catskills. Skies were mostly cloudy with occasional sunshine and highs in the upper 30s. Temperatures were below normal from the West Coast and southern Rockies to the Great Plains, and from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, and much above normal in west Texas, where highs were in the upper 80s. While the high was only 29 degrees at Flagstaff, Ariz., it was 54 degrees at Sidney, Mont. It was a brilliantly sunny St. Patty’s Day across the Northeast on Monday, with Canadian high pressure centered just north of Lake Ontario. In the Cooperstown area and the Western Catskills, early morning lows were in the teens and highs were only in the upper 30’s, but it felt much warmer in the strong March sunshine. In the lower Hudson Valley, highs were in the middle 40s with relative humidity levels around 20 percent. .

Mark Hanok is an Otego based meteorologist. You can visit him on the World Wide Web at http://members. aol.com/weathergazette.