With snow banks quickly disappearing and giving way to the lawns underneath, spring is finally in the air in New England! The March weather was quite fierce with three severe snowstorms in a two-week period.
Precipitation, in the form of rain or snow, is associated with atmospheric pressure drops. Meteorologists often use barometric data to predict precipitation. A large pressure drop in a 24-hour period results in the infamous bomb cyclone phenomenon, which New England experienced during the first week in March. Subsequent storms were also accompanied by notable atmospheric pressure drops.
The Element-A solution in our Cambridge, MA office noted the various pressure drops at the times of snowstorms. The days of the snow storms were:
Snowstorm #1 (the bomb cyclone) - March 1-2, 2018
Snowstorm #2 - March 7, 2018
Snowstorm #3 - March 13, 2018
These dates coincide with the pressure drops recorded by our Element-A device, as shown in the figure below:
These pressure changes are relatively small and almost indistinguishable to humans, but they are important in understanding weather patterns. Here’s to hoping that the next pressure drops in New England are April showers (not snow) that bring May flowers!