HIGH WIND WATCHES HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR ALL OF WMASS AND CMASS.. WIND ADVISORIES POSTED FOR SVT AND NWCT… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES CONTINUE FOR SVT, SWNH, BERKSHIRES, WESTERN HILLTOWNS AND N. WORCESTER COUNTY… SNOW, SLEET, RAIN AND SE WINDS MOVE IN FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE… STRONG WINDS EXPECTED TOMORROW ON NEW YEAR’S DAY… (7:50am Mon)

Good morning everybody, The weather report is down below, but with 2019 upon us, I wanted to start by saying a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who follow me on this page, as well as those of you are patrons of my work here.

It is your interactions, reports and comments that make this page what it is, and I’m very grateful to be doing this work, and it’s you that I have to thank for that! I’m eyeing many improvements for 2019, and will be working hard this upcoming year to make what I do more useful and helpful to you and yours when it comes to communicating severe (and benign) weather impacts so you can plan around those impacts.

I wish for you a wonderful 2019 filled with health, connection with friends and family, love and the simple joys that come from appreciating the little things in life more often. Happy New Year!!

HERE’S DAVE WITH THE WEATHER
–A mix of sun and clouds starts this day, with clouds increasing as the day wears on
–Highs will reach the mid 30s in the high terrain of WMass and up into SVT, with the valley topping out in the low 40s
–Rain, sleet and snow move into the region between 4-7pm from southwest to northeast
–While a brief period of mixed snow, sleet and rain is possible even in valley locations, we should go to rain east of the western hilltowns and south of Rt. 2 down into NCT
–Still, some coatings are possible in the lower elevations of the northern Pioneer Valley (Northampton northward)
–However, north of Rt. 9 in Worcester County, and along and north of Rt. 2 in western Franklin County, as well as the Berkshires and SVT/SWNH an extended snow/sleet/freezing rain mix is expected
–A coating to as much as 2 or 3″ of snow/sleet is possible, followed by a light glaze of freezing rain
–After a mix, the valley will turn to rain and it will be come steady tonight
–Winds will gust out of the southeast 20-30mph
–Lows will drop into the low to mid 30s, and then rise later at night
–For tomorrow, morning showers will give way to partly sunny skies, and highs into the 40s and low 50s will be reached in the morning
–The cold front passes through the region as well
–Our strengthening storm system rips east through northern New England, while higher pressures build in quickly from the west
–This pressure gradient should cause strong west winds to develop
–It could gust 40-60mph tomorrow morning and early afternoon across the region, so scattered power outages are possible
–Tuesday night will be cold with lows in the low 20s
–Wednesday and Thursday are seasonable with highs in the low to mid 30s and lows in the 20s under partly to mostly sunny skies
–We are still watching a storm system for Friday. Exact track will be crucial as to who sees what for precipitation, but for now expect a mix of snow, ice and rain
–Regardless, next weekend is looking sweet!

Have a great day, be safe tonight, pack rain gear, give yourself extra time to travel especially if you are in the more wintry precip zones this evening and overnight, and mix in a few glasses of wather or a cup of coffee amongst your boozy drinks.

And be sure to have fun! Happy New Year!! :-)