Good morning folks, I had said most of us would see a coating to an inch or so, but for folks living in southern Worcester County, eastern Hartford County through Tolland and Windham Counties CT, and eastern half of Hampden County into far eastern Hampshire County we had a little overperforming snow band last night that just would not quit! This band dropped 1-4” for the most part in those areas, and I certainly did not anticipate that developing. However, this event will turn out to be small potatoes compared to what’s coming (Nutshell and Discussion sections follow).

YOUR NUTSHELL:
–We had a localized overperformance of snowfall last night in central to eastern Hampden County, parts of north-central and northeast CT and southern CMass with 1-4” there, in general
–Coating to an inch elsewhere, with more in southern VT, please let me know how much snow you got overnight… plows came out for some!
–Milder air sweeps in for a partly sunny day with highs mid 30s to low 40s
–A few snow showers in northwest MA or SVT/SWNH today
–Gusty southwest winds of 20-35mph at times
–Watch for black ice due to refreeze overnight as temps drop into the teens
–Colder Friday with an Arctic front swinging through
–Highs in the 20s to low 30s will drop like a rock at and after sunset
–Northwest winds pick up behind the front and gust 25-40mph
–Lows will bottom out in the -12º to 6º range by Saturday morning
–Wind chills will plummet into the -15º to -35º range (valley to high terrain)
–Saturday is super cold, highs mainly in the single digits, maybe some low teens, breezy and frigid
–Lows again below zero Saturday night with clouds increasing
–Clouds thicken and snow develops by later morning toward noon
–Snow becomes moderate to heavy later in the afternoon, peaking at night
–Lingering areas of light snow for Monday morning, and possibly all day long
–Conservatively this looks at this point to be a 6-12” snowfall, but if it comes together widespread double-digits would be possible (This is just an early idea!)
–More Arctic air arrives next week with fair weather and frigid temperatures expected with highs in the teens to low 20s, lows in the single digits to near 0º

YOUR DISCUSSION:
That overnight snow band has since dissipated, but we do have some more snow showers that may dot some of our hills and dales this morning and late today as mild air surges into the region, changing some snow showers to rain (though most activity should be isolated).

Highs will reach the mid 30s to low 40s under partly sunny skies and southwest winds will gust 20-35mph at times. Get outside and enjoy the mildness, because it’s going to be slammed south and away from New England for at least another week, and probably longer.

Lows tonight will drop into the teens, and so any snow melt today will refreeze overnight, so watch out for slippery conditions due to black ice.

For Friday, highs will be colder, hanging in the 20s to low 30s under partly sunny skies, and then we’ll see a powerful Arctic front sweep the region by afternoon with a few snow showers possible, and a noticeable wind shift to the northwest, with gusts of 25-40mph by later afternoon and into the overnight hours and Saturday morning.

Temps will crash during Friday night, down to -12º to 6º and with those kinds of wind gusts, wind chills will be brutally cold, in the -35º to -15º range (coldest in the Berkshires), so please please please bundle up and prepare for this level of cold if you have to head out late Friday night and especially early Saturday morning.

Saturday conditions look fair with highs in the single digits to maybe low teens under sunny skies, followed by lows again in the below zero range.

Clouds will increase late Saturday night into Sunday morning and then all eyes turn to southwest of New England where a very powerful, multi-state, multi-hazard winter storm will be wreaking havoc across the country in the form of heavy snow, thunderstorms, wind, and a potentially crippling ice storm in parts of the south into the Carolinas and southern Virginia.

This storm has continued its northward trend, and as of now, looks to push into the mid-Appalachians and then transfer its energy to a secondary low off o the Delaware coastline and pass east-northeast over The Benchmark which is a classic low center location for major southern New England snowstorms.

*If* this comes to pass, and if we can get solid dendrite production for a period of time, a storm of this magnitude slamming a subtropical fetch of moisture into very cold and dry air already in place over the greater WMass region has the *potential* to produce a widespread double-digit snowfall of 10-18”.

I’m not saying we’re gonna get 10-18”.

I’m saying the potential for that level of accumulation exists with this storm, and I will keep you updated on any changes that develop as we are still 72-84 hours away from this storm, and changes can happen.

The brunt of the storm looks to be later Sunday afternoon and Sunday night, with a potential long-tail wind down of light snow periods Monday morning, possibly lingering into the afternoon as the upper low swings east and through the region, so that’s something to watch as well.

Behind that storm system, another Arctic blast is dragged southeast into the region though it may not be as cold as the Friday / Saturday #FrigidFest we’re about to endure.

Have a great day and I will keep the updates coming!

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