The Cumberland Times-News

Cumberland, MD. November 18, 2024 - While we are on track for the warmest November on record, Mother Nature is kicking the heat to the curb later this week! A fleeting pattern change will bring out the gloves, hats, scarfs and snow shovels! The first sign for a change in the wings will be showers ahead of a warm front Tuesday.

The rain is much needed but won’t add up to more than a half-inch. Look for widespread dense fog to limit visibility, particularly in the mountains Tuesday night in the warm front’s wake. The low clouds will linger for a time on Wednesday, but then a gusty cold front will knock on the door in the evening. Peak gusts of 35-40 mph will rocket through the region and temperatures will drop below freezing by Midnight.

The upcoming pattern Thursday into the first part of the weekend favors snow squalls ripping across the Alleghenies and a few bursts surviving the trip into eastern Allegany County. While Cumberland to Little Orleans will see a dusting of accumulation, Frostburg will see 2 inches of snow and Garrett County will tally 3 to 5 inches of accumulation.

Expect Interstate 68 to become slippery Thursday night into Friday as the intense snow squalls chill the pavement. Winds will stay gusty across the entire region and there will likely be isolated to scattered power outages. The saving grace for a widespread blackout include the trees being stripped of leaves since the foliage season is in the rear-view mirror.

The brief winter spat is thanks to atmospheric forcing that is sending the jet stream in a frenzy. The tropical forcing is weakening the lower polar vortex to the point where it’s impacting the U.S. weather pattern. However, the winds around the polar vortex will gain momentum, the atmospheric angular momentum will switch to a strong positive phase and temperatures will return above average and dry weather will resume several days before Thanksgiving. The pattern will not be sustainable for the ski resorts to continue making snow for the remainder of the month.

The average temperature in Cumberland so far this month has been 51.3 degrees, surpassing the previous warmest November in 2001 by 1.3 degrees! Oakland’s average temperature is 51.9 degrees, completely blowing away the previous warmest November in 1985 by 5 degrees! The cold snap late this week will keep the region from seeing its warmest November on record. That being said, we will likely see the month rank in the top 5 for warmest November on record after the numbers are crunched at the beginning of December.