Hi All, lurked for a while, moderately recent transplant to the area from ATL after a ~2yr stint in Minnesota (was not prepared for -20F and lower temps, ha!) but I'll take cold over heat and humidity any day. I have an eng research bkgnd, love modeling&sim, meteorology, and the details. High pressure is my personal nemesis because I much prefer progressive patterns over stagnation, especially in the summer (heat, humidity).
What made me join though is this:
I find the local news, even our fcst office, always painting a sunnier picture (pun intended) than what's there: >20F over climatological norms during winter does not constitute a "nice day" nor does the lack of rain thus far this spring. We need some moisture that isn't in the form of snow melt because that's basically runoff, which is why there is a fire season in the spring. But the recent sunny days and above average temps with low humidity, beautiful as they may be, have really done a number on our soil moisture. The PA DEP USGS has drought indicators already going off and we're not even at the drier part of summer yet. Granted, a few strong rainy fronts would go a long way here, but with the ENSO setup and teleconnections, we aren't trending in the better direction.