Good morning people of the Golden West (as my Dad used to say), it is CHILLY out there with wind chills below zero in the Berkshires (Peru, MA was down to -13ºF earlier!) with temps in the single digits and lower teens in many areas. We’ll see some moderately blustery conditions as temps come up a bit today with west-northwest gusts around 20-35mph with highs in the low to mid 20s.

This will keep wind chills down into the upper single digits to teens during the day at times under partly to mostly sunny skies, though clouds will increase late and last into the overnight as winds come down. I expect lows to crash into the upper single digits to mid teens overnight, which will represent our last very cold night that we’ll endure (along with this dearth of light) for over a week. A snow shower or flurry is possible overnight as a weak system passes well north of us.

It will be quite a wintry ebb over a long night ahead, and a good evening to curl up around some soup, a wood fire, a book, your blankets and warm clothes, if you are so fortunate.

Tuesday will be a bit milder, but still unseasonably cold with highs only in the mid 20s to low 30s under mostly sunny skies and lighter winds. Lows will dip into the mid teens to low 20s.

By Wednesday and Thursday, southerly flow will become established with high pressure to our southeast, and this will pump milder temps and moister air into the greater WMass region through Friday morning.

Highs Wednesday will push above freezing finally and we’ll get some snow melt (meaning black ice will form Wednesday night due to refreezing). Highs will reach the upper 30s to mid 40s under partly sunny skies with lows in the 20s.

By Thursday, highs look to climb well into the 40s with southerly breezes picking up and possibly becoming strong gusts at night as temps may CONTINUE to rise towards or over 50º. Should that happen, gusts may reach 35-55mph and cause some isolated outages as heavier rain moves in around or after midnight and through Friday morning.

It’ll be more of a warm-season type of frontal passage, and then much colder air will sweep in behind it by mid day into the afternoon and evening with temps dropping through the afternoon as winds swing around to the northwest.

This may also cause a brief ending of snow in the Berkshires, and some lake effect snow showers are possible Friday night in the Litchfields, Berkshires, Taconics, western hilltowns and SVT.

Saturday is colder and dry with highs in the 30s for the most part, followed by a few warm frontal rain or snow showers at night. Sunday looks milder, with a rise back into the low to mid 40s.

Have a great day and think of something good in your life now or in the past and smile for 10 seconds about it!

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
― Joseph Campbell