Boston College Forecast:                                                                                        

“The Terrapins are coming..the Terrapins are coming!”

                                    -Bob W.

THE INTRO: 

This seems highly unusual, but by the time this is goes from the forecast on deck, to the forecast in the batters box, I hope nobody cares.  I hope it isn’t even read!  No, not because I’m terrible at predicting the weather, but because there is no need to even care about this game.  And luckily only two things have to happen for this wish to come true.  We have to beat FSU at home, and Wake has to beat BC at home.  For those looking for hope, just realize if the two home teams win this weekend, we are set.  Now there are a lot of assumptions, and with 4 possible outcomes the odds of things falling into place are roughly 1 out of 4. But home field advantage is so huge in College Football, and all we need is for both of us to hold serve. 
 

Now that’s one option, the other option is that we win, and BC wins, and in fact this game because the biggest game of the year.  That isn’t the worse case scenario, but I’d much rather be playing for the Atlantic Division at home than in Boston with sub zero weather.  Of course there are two other outcomes that we won’t discuss because quite frankly they just can’t possibly happen, of course I mean that not in a cocky way, but in a ‘your X-mas tree catches on fire’ sort of way.   
 

Regardless of what happens on the grid iron this weekend, there is one constant and that is the weather.  The bad news is that this has been a tough year for the weather desk, but the great news is that this isn’t the last forecast of the season.  In fact I could even have TWO more to do (can you imagine) and what is even better, both of those two could be forecasts for somewhere in the state of Florida (the nice part, not the part that really should be in Alabama).  So as you can see there is so much up in the air at the time of this writing that it is almost silly to think about all the outcomes.  But since this is a forecast, not a what’s happening now cast, we’ll have to leave these loose ends untied for now and focus on the task at hand.   
 

THE HISTORY:

First let me apologize to Chris.  I should be in Boston for this, no check that, WE ALL should be in Boston for this.  How many times does Bix come down to CP and then when we finally play in his back yard no one wants to travel?  I just wish I could, and I like to think that if I had more leave (or was given the day after Turkey Day off as an automatic Holiday like I used to) that I would be up there.  But I can justify it all I want, it won’t matter.  I’m a jerk, and I feel bad.  It is because of this that Karma is going to give us our first Maryland Game in the snow, and I won’t be able to say “I was there”.  Since this game is in Boston at the end of November, it really shouldn’t shock anyone that it will be cold, how cold?  We’ll lets see.  The average high on this date in Beantown is 47F, and the average low is 33F.  Now with that being said, you have to remember that this fall has trended a lot more to the cold side.  For the extremes on this date you have a record high of 69F set back in 1990 (back when Milli Vanilli roamed the landscape) and the all time record low for this date is 8F set back in 1875 when General Custer was still alive.

THE FORECAST:

OK, so lets see what the Farmers Almanac is calling for, hmmm storm out of the southwest will bring rain, sleet, and snow from Virginia and Maryland up north.  Well I guess it’s official.  God hates me.  That’s the bad news, the good news is that now I know the forecast.  In fact it all makes perfect sense now.  My other source even confirms showing that there is a strong chance of precipitation on this date (62% chance).  So it looks like it is going to be snow.   
 

The forecast for the "Beans, Beans, good for your heart Game" is for snowy weather.  Well let me correct that somewhat.  It will be snowy with some rain mixing in.  Boston of course is on the Ocean that will help regulate the temperature somewhat. Now if Bix is correct this will be a night game starting at 3:30 (see the sunset for full explanation).  So during the tailgate temps could crack into the 40’s, but for the game you will be looking at 30’s.  I say the high will be 42F and the low will be 30F.  There will be some wind with the storm so look for some gusts.  Luckily for the Terp fans traveling this tailgate will be in doors so at least you have that.  So to recap, high 42, low 30 with snow mixed with rain throughout the day, and gusty winds.   
 

This will be a code red “All Hands on Deck” game for your wardrobe.  Bring dry clothes and bring warm clothes, and for goodness sake bring a hat and gloves, and a flask probably wouldn’t kill you (though it could increase your chances of frostbite). 

As I said in the forecast, this could be both a 3:30 start and a night game.  The reason is that the sun will be setting in Boston at 4:12 pm! Can you believe that!  The sunrise will be at 6:51 am, but what good is that?   

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As for Mr. Moon, he will be rising at 8:50 am, and then will set at 5:28 or somewhere in the 3^rd quarter.  It will most definitely be out, but it may be tough to find, if you can see it, look for a waxing crescent at about 5% illumination.  Not unlike this picture to the right.. 

 

THE HURRICANE REPORT:

Closed for the Season, but maybe I should make this the Nor’Easter Report. 
 
 

THE SNOW REPORT:

We finally have a history of snowfall to talk about.  In 1995 Boston received 3.91” of snow on this date.  I hate to do it, but I’m putting the likelihood of snow as high.  This could be it gentlemen, this could be what we have all been dreaming of since we were boys.  ACC action in the snow!! 

THE X-FACTOR: 

Just to show you some extremes that could happen and have happened on this particular date in weather history.  Not a very busy day weather wise!

• 1896 - The mercury plunged to 51 degrees below zero at Havre, MT. It marked the culmination of a two week long cold wave caused by a stagnate high pressure area similar to those over Siberia during the winter. During the month of November temperatures across Montana and the Dakotas averaged 15 to 25 degrees below normal. (David Ludlum)
• 1969 - Dense fog along the Jersey Turnpike resulted in a chain reaction of vehicle collisions during the morning rush hour. A propane truck jacknifed and was struck by a trailor truck, and other vehicles piled into the fiery mass. (David Ludlum)
• 1975 - Red River was buried under 34 inches of snow in 24 hours, establishing a record for the state of New Mexico. (The Weather Channel)
• 1985 - The temperature at Bismarck, ND, plunged to 30 degrees below zero to establish their record low for the month of November. The high that day was 4 degrees below zero. (The Weather Channel)
• 1987 - Snow blanketed the Upper Mississippi Valley, with heavy snow reported near Lake Superior. Up to ten inches of snow was reported in Douglas County and Bayfield County of Wisconsin. Brule WI received nine inches of snow. Heavy rain soaked the Middle Atlantic Coast States, while gale force winds lashed the coastline. Flooding was reported in Maryland and Virginia. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
• 1988 - Nine inches of snow at Alta UT brought their total for the month to 164 inches, surpassing their previous November record of 144 inches. Snowbird UT, also in the Little Cottonwood Valley, surpassed their November record of 118 inches of snow. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 1989 - Strong Santa Ana winds diminished over southern California, but record cold was reported in some of the California valleys, with readings of 27 degrees at Redding and 31 degrees at Bakersfield. Gale force winds, gusting to 44 mph at Milwuakee WI, produced snow squalls in the Great Lakes Region. Sault Ste Marie MI finished the month of November with a record 46.8 inches of snow. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)

 
 

**This is a disclaimer to remove all responsibility on myself if this forecast is wrong.  Being that it is very difficult to predict the weather greater than 48 hours in advance, the odds of needing this disclaimer are about 100%.  However I do believe this forecast will be pretty close to what we can actually look to expect.