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1 pm NBC
[h1]Thanks to Noyes, no 'surprise' snow at Fenway[/h1]
Thursday, 12.31.2009 / 5:55 PM / 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic - Flyers v. Bruins
By Shawn P. Roarke - NHL.com Managing Editor
"I think we will come into the middle-30s as the night goes on and hold there with 37 degrees or so as a high for tomorrow. We'll do that with cloudy skies all day tomorrow; but with a little bit of drizzle and some flurries mixed in."
-- New England Cable News weatherman Matt Noyes
BOSTON -- Thursday's surprise snow showers may have taken many by surprise, but don't count New England Cable News weatherman Matt Noyes among the group.
Fortunately, Noyes is consulting for both the NHL and the NHL Network at the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, so those preparing for and broadcasting Thursday's practice day at Fenway Park were as prepared as you can be for a fast-moving storm that created near white-out conditions for a portion of the afternoon.
"We saw this one coming for a little while, but we thought it would come in during the late afternoon and then yesterday at about 8 or 9 in the morning, we looked and said, 'Wait a minute, this is coming in about lunchtime," Noyes told NHL.com as the Flyers conducted their mid-afternoon skate. "We said about two inches and we got about two-and-a- half; so it was a little more than we thought."
How, though, did an expected late-evening rain event that threatened the playing of Friday's 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic (1 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC) turn into a late-morning snow event that provided the perfect visuals for the practice sessions of both the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers?
[h1]2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic[/h1]
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2010 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC ARCHIVE ›
"Essentially what is happening here today is this snow is the result of a thrust of warmth and moisture coming in and these flurries are just the finishing touch of this warm air coming in," Noyes said.
And, more importantly, what does it all mean for Friday's game and the fans that will pack Fenway Park to bursting to watch what has become a New Year's Day tradition?
"I think we stay OK throughout the day," Noyes said, smiling. "I think we are going to be good for this game."
What does OK mean, exactly?
"Tonight the temperature will hold steady or even rise a couple of degrees," Noyes says. "I think we will come into the middle-30s as the night goes on and hold there with 37 degrees or so as a high for tomorrow. We'll do that with cloudy skies all day tomorrow; but with a little bit of drizzle and some flurries mixed in."
Noyes said that there could be some showers before the game, but accumulation will be less than 1/10th of an inch. Come game time, there might be a few inconsequential showers, or flurries, but no major disturbances; although Noyes did add a caveat that snow events were happening in Maine and New Hampshire -- "which in the world of weather is not that far away."
An avid hockey fan from the Boston area, this Winter Classic has been a weatherman's Stanley Cup-like challenge. But, like a hockey player facing a Game 7, Noyes is happy that the finish line is looming -- especially after wading through a variety of weather events, including a major snow storm, several days of rain, a bitter cold snap with gale-level winds and an unseasonably warm 50 degree day earlier this week. .
"It's been an interesting forecast through the week, real interesting to watch," Noyes said. "But, here at NECN, we have remained optimistic."
And, after correctly predicting Thursday's surprise storm, maybe it is time for NHL fans to be as optimistic that Friday's game will go off without a weather-related hitch.
Go Flyers!
