Western Mass Regional Weather for February 20, 2023


TABLE OF CONTENTS:
–Weekly Nutshell (Quick impact list)
–Sponsor Note (Tandem Bagel Co.)
–NWS Alerts (Advisories, Warnings, Watches)
–Celestial Data (Sun/Moon info)
–Regional Summaries (quick in and out details)
–Morning Discussion (Longer-form explanation)
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DAVE’S WEEKLY WEATHER NUTSHELL
–We start off mostly cloudy this morning, but partial sunshine develops later
–Wind turns from light south to gusty west up to 15-25mph, with increasing temps
–Highs in the 40s and 50s today: the last day of exceptionally mild temps for a while as the trend is down/seasonable
–Clouds build Tuesday, with low chance for morning snow showers in northern CT up to the MA Pike, but likely dry
–Otherwise, rain and snow showers move in by mid to late afternoon Tuesday (possibly early PM in the Berkshires)
–While the valley should be a mix of snow, the Berkshires, Litchfields, hilltowns, CMass, SVT and SWNH should see 1-3″ before midnight, coating to 1″ in the valley down into northern CT
–Nice day Wednesday, mostly sunny early, clouds increase late
–Snow arrives before or around midnight, then changes to sleet and freezing rain Thursday morning
–Snow may hold on over parts of SVT and SWNH, but we likely all have an ice storm of sleet and/or freezing rain Thursday into the evening, before it quits
–Friday is sunnier, but Arctic air moves in with decreasing temps, blustery winds, and below-zero wind chills at night
–Cold and dry Saturday, but Saturday night into Sunday may feature snow or ice with another system, but before we jump into the weather discussion/details below, let’s check a note from our local and delicious sponsor, #TandemBagelCo, with their newest location in West Springfield, MA.
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A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR:
Dave Hayes The Weather Nut is Sponsored by Members, Patrons & Tandem Bagel Company… No matter the weather, Tandem Bagel is always there for you at several valley locations to make your mornings brighter! With bagels baked fresh daily (including Gluten-Free options), house-whipped cream cheese, coffee, and tons of lunch options, Tandem is the perfect quick stop for lunch, breakfast, or a coffee and bagel to go. Find them in Easthampton, Northampton, Hadley, Florence, and West Springfield, or use their super-streamlined online ordering tool by visiting their website.
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***DHTWN DAILY WEATHER REPORT***
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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALERTS
–Winter Weather Advisories up for Bennington County and western Windham County, VT.

DHTWN REMINDER
–It doesn’t take much to do a nice thing for somebody that you don’t know.

DAILY CELESTIAL (STAR):
–OUR STAR ROSE AT: 6:39am this morning
–OUR STAR WILL SET AT: 5:29pm this evening
–TOTAL DAYLIGHT TIME: 10 hours and 50 minutes

NIGHTLY CELESTIAL (MOON):
–OUR MOON WILL SET AT: 6:03pm this morning
–OUR MOON WILL RISE AT: 7:41am tomorrow morning
–MOON SET DIRECTION: West-Southwest
–MOON RISE DIRECTION: East
–MOON PHASE: NEW MOON (0.2%)
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DAILY TERRESTRIAL
ZONE 1 – Northern Region
(Southern VT, Southwest NH)
–High Temps: Mid to Upper 40s
–Low Temps: Mid to Upper 20s
–Winds: Light south, then westerly gusts 15-25mph
–Sky Cover: Mostly cloudy, some partial sunshine later
–Precipitation: A few afternoon showers possible, snow tomorrow afternoon, 1-4″ inches possible, more mountains, less near the CT River

ZONE 2 – Central Region
(Western MA, North-Central MA, Northern Litchfield CT)
–High Temps: Upper 40s to Mid 50s
–Low Temps: 25-30º
–Winds: Light south, then westerly gusts 15-25mph
–Sky Cover: Mostly cloudy early, then partly sunny
–Precipitation: A few afternoon showers possible in the far northwest, snow and rain tomorrow afternoon, 1-3″ of snow high terrain, coating to 1″ valley

ZONE 3 – Southern Region
(South-Central MA, Northern CT)
–High Temps: Mid to Upper 50s
–Low Temps: Upper 20s to Low 30s
–Winds: Light south, then westerly gusts 15-25mph
–Sky Cover: Mostly cloudy, some partial sunshine later
–Precipitation: Mostly Dry, then rain showers tomorrow, mixed with snow in the high terrain where a coating to 1″ of snow is possible
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MORNING DISCUSSION
Good morning everybody, another week has dawned upon us, and somehow we’re still spinning like a top, ellipsis-ing around our star, and corkscrewing through the Cosmos in a vast Universal dance along with hundred of billions of other galaxies, so despite whatever form of malady you may be dealing with today, at least we got to come here for a while and have this experience individually and collectively.

As for our weather, we have lots going on, so I’m going to take a cue from TheBulletizationMobile(TM), which is the imaginary provoker and encourager of bulleted weather information that beeps incessantly in my brain, occasionally manifesting during sleep-deprived cycles as an actual car like The Weasley’s flying blue jalopy in the Harry Potter movies, banging against my window, beeping and waking up all the neighbors, demanding I use double–dashes to deliver the details! I’m on it!

SUMMARY:
–A weak frontal boundary moves through today with morning clouds and light south wind
–As it passes, skies should clear to partly sunny and winds should veer to westerly and gust 15-25mph at times
–Highs will rise into the upper 40s to mid 50s for most of us as we enjoy one last mild day
–A weak cold front moves through tonight and a few showers are possible in SVT or far northwest MA
–Lows will drop to the mid to upper 20s in much of the area, and low 30s in northern CT
–We have to watch for a potential localized snow band in northern CT overnight along the trailing cold front into Tuesday morning, though it’s a low chance
–Otherwise, we’re dry into the afternoon when snow and rain moves into the region, especially by mid to late afternoon
–Highs will reach the low to mid 30s, possibly upper 30s in northern CT
–The valley is more likely to see rain mixed with snow, but even there some coatings are possible down into northern CT
–Either side of the valley, we should see more like 1-3″ of snow, and steady snow could affect the evening commute in these areas and anywhere along and north of the Rt. 2 corridor
–Snow quits by midnight, and lows will drop into the mid 20s with westerly winds gusting up to 30mph at times
–Wednesday starts off lovely, with sunshine and highs in the mid to upper 30s
–However, clouds will build in the afternoon, and high pressure to our north will be draining cold air south into the WMass region
–This will allow temps to fall into the 20s at night and snow will fall across the region
–However, as southerly flow aloft will be drawn by low pressure to the west, we should see a transition to sleet and freezing rain into Thursday
–Thursday looks like a lousy travel day at the moment, but I will keep you updated as we get closer
–It looks icy and cold with highs in the upper 20s to low 30s for just about all of us, including northern CT, though somewhere in CT/RI I expect there will be an ice/rain line that sets up
–Everything comes to an end Thursday night with lows in the 20s, and then Friday an Arctic front swings through the region
–Highs will only be in the 20s on Friday, and then temps will fall with gusty northwest winds, and wind chills below zero by night time with lows in the single digits to teens
–Saturday looks cold and fair, with partial sunshine and highs in the mid to upper 20s
–Then we watch Saturday night into Sunday as another storm will moving toward the region with snow and/or ice and increasing temps by Sunday, with another storm chance by next Tuesday or Wednesday… very busy!

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AND REMEMBER…
“Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies: Goddamn it, you’ve got to be kind.”
–Kurt Vonnegut

By |2023-02-20T07:20:00-05:00February 20, 2023|Current Forecast|

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