Published: August 14, 2008 08:16 am         

Weather Watch

By MARK HANOK

During the past week, the Northeast got the coolest weather in the nation. That’s because of a series of low pressure systems that rotated around a large upper-level trough in place over eastern Canada. This provided unusually cold air aloft, and a very unstable atmosphere. Although we received only about half an inch at our weather station in Otego so far this month, it seems like much more precipitation because there’s been at least some rain on most days. With a northwest flow continuing, temperatures have averaged about two degrees below normal so far in August.

During the upcoming week, there will be a gradual warming trend, as the upper- level low moves to the east and high pressure builds eastward to the mid-Atlantic states.

On Friday, skies will be partly sunny with highs in the mid-70s. As a cold front approaches from western New York, there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Then as a large high settles southward to the Great Lakes, beautiful weather will take over, with mostly sunny skies, low humidity, a northwest breeze, and highs in the middle 70’s. Look for the same kind of weather on Sunday and Monday, with mostly sunny skies and low humidity, and highs in the lower 80s.

Skies will be partly sunny again on Tuesday, with the chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, on a more humid southwest flow.

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