SNOW TO ICE CAUSES SLIPPERY DRIVING CONDITIONS LATE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW MORNING… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES CONTINUE… HIGH WIND WARNINGS AND WATCHES CONTINUE TO POST FOR THE BERKSHIRES, WESTERN HILLTOWNS, LITCHFIELDS, TACONICS AND SOUTHERN GREENS… SCATTERED TO WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES POSSIBLE BY MONDAY AFTERNOON/NIGHT…. (6:55pm Saturday)

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Good evening everybody, to be clear, I am most assuredly focused on Earth tonight and not Mars!

All kidding aside, we have an impactful 48 hours or so ahead in terms of our weather, both for driving/travel conditions, as well as for continuity of electricity to our homes.

Wind events are tricky to forecast, because all it takes is for one variable to change a bit, and it can prevent wind that is very strong a mile up from mixing down to the surface and causing real problems.

The event that starts Sunday night and really revs up Monday morning into the afternoon holds the potential to be truly damaging for some of us, so read this report, and stay tuned for future updates!

SUMMARY:
–For tonight, clouds thicken and lower as strengthening parent low pressure pushes northeast into the Great Lakes, while secondary low pressure develops off the Jersey coast tonight
–Lows will drop into the mid to upper 20s

ICY TRAVEL LATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW A.M.
–Snow and sleet will move into the region between 11pm and 1am from southwest (Litchfield County) to northeast (Cheshire County NH / northern Worcester County MA)
–A coating to 2″ of snow and sleet is expected across the region from south to north before changing to freezing rain before dawn tomorrow morning
–A few 3″ or 4″ amounts can’t be ruled out in the southern Green Mountains
–By tomorrow morning, most of us should see freezing rain, with plain possible in north-central and northeast CT and southern Worcester County
–There’s a low chance some of us will still be sleeting by that time
–Icy travel conditions are expected early tomorrow morning, with improvements in the lower valley by about 9am as we warm up with time
–I am concerned that freezing rain/icing may continue in the Berkshires and hilltowns up into SVT and SWNH through late morning
–After icing ends, we will have plain rain showers into the early to mid afternoon before it lightens up as a dry slot punches through the region
–Highs tomorrow should crest the 40 degree mark, but may remain in the mid to upper 30s for folks in the high terrain
–Easterly wind gust ahead of the incoming very strong cold front (which will pass through in the evening) will gust to 30mph at times, possibly a little higher in the east-facing high terrain slopes west of I-91

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<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< STRONG WIND EVENT LOOKS LIKELY SUN.-MON. --For tomorrow evening, the cold front passes through, and west winds will gust over 40mph at times with cold air advection underway --Lows tomorrow night will range from the low to mid 20s --Some isolated power outages will be possible sunrise Monday morning and wind chills will be in the low teens for some --For Monday, bombogenesis is underway for a storm to north as it rips into southeast Canada and deepens rapidly --This will whip westerlies through the region with winds gusting over 40mph in the valley and low terrain areas down into northern CT and CMass, possibly reaching 50mph at times --For the Berkshires, Litchfields, Taconics, southern Greens and western hilltowns, wind gusts could exceed 60mph at times! --This will be thanks to a strong low level jet streak moving overhead, with a well-mixed atmosphere down to the surface, allowing for winds to translate downward to the surface --Scattered to widespread power outages are possible in the high terrain, so please have your preparedness plan in place for no power, as it could be a real issue with downed power lines, tree limbs and some trees --Monday highs will be in the mid 20s to low 30s, with lows in the single digits to teens, high terrain to low --This will cause wind chills to drop into the single digits, and below zero in some cases, especially Monday night --Winds may still be gusting 40-50mph Monday night before relaxing as we arrive into Tuesday <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Does planning for your organization, business or family depend wholly or in part around DHTWN’s work? Secure Support Link (Check, PayPal, Cards): https://www.westernmassweather.com/donate
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< WINTER FLEXES THIS WEEK --Tuesday and Wednesday look quite cold with highs in the 20s Tuesday with blustery conditions, and highs in the teens possible Wednesday! --Light snow is possible with a weaker system Wednesday evening --We moderate a bit late week with fair weather --Two winter storm potentials exist for next weekend, and early the following week I will keep you updated on all of it, so please stay tuned during the rest of this weekend for our short-term weather impacts. As many of you know, my 2019 Support Drive is underway so if you haven't had a chance to donate, please click the secure link below for Check, PayPal and Card options, thank you! LINK: https://www.westernmassweather.com/donate

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HIGH WIND WATCHES HAVE BEEN HOISTED FOR SVT, THE TACONICS, THE BERKSHIRES AND WESTERN HILTOWNS FOR TOMORROW NIGHT INTO MONDAY NIGHT… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE UP REGION-WIDE FOR SNOW AND ICE BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT LASTING INTO THE MID MORNING FOR SOME TOMORROW… A RAINY SUNDAY IS ON THE WAY… (8:10am Sat)

Good morning everybody, I hope your sleep was unfitful, deep, and replete with dreams of sweetness. We’ve got some travel concerns late tonight and early tomorrow morning to pay attention to, but the bigger weather story is the potential for a powerful wind event Sunday night through Monday afternoon and evening when some power outages may be scattered across the region, especially out in the Berkshires and western hilltowns up into SVT. Let’s jump into the details!

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SUMMARY
–For today, we’ll enjoy a calm day with light winds, mostly sunny skies, and highs either side of 40 degrees.
–Some more melting will occur as the sun angle is getting higher now in late February
–A storm will be tracking northeast through the Great Lakes, once again, and will develop into a very deep low pressure system
–As we cool down into the upper 20s tonight, the storm’s warm front will extend into our region, providing enough lift to allow light snow, sleet and freezing rain to break out across the region
–This should happen in showery form before midnight, and becomes steadier during the pre-dawn hours of Sunday
–A coating to an inch of snow is expected, along with ice glaze of a tenth of an inch or so
–By tomorrow morning, some of us will be warming enough to change to plain rain, but folks in parts of the Berkshires, western hilltowns, northern Worcester County, and SVT/SWNH could remain freezing rain into the mid morning, and possibly late morning
–Be careful driving out there late tonight and tomorrow morning, to be sure
–We all turn to plain rain at various times tomorrow as highs will reach the low 40s. Rain should quit by mid to late afternoon and go to a few scattered showers or drizzle

POSSIBLE DAMAGING WINDS
–Tomorrow evening, lows are expected to drop into the mid to upper 20s behind a cold front that will swing through
–Behind that feature, west winds should start gusting to 40mph or so during the night, and then picking up into Monday
–As you can see in the attached map, wind gusts could exceed 60mph in the high terrain!
–This would cause outages, downed limbs and trees, and power lines in places
–The high wind is due to the intense pressure gradient expected between a rapidly deeping low pressure into southeast Canada and incoming high pressure Monday into Tuesday
–Highs on Monday will struggle to reach the freezing mark with lows in the low teens as winter flexes again
–In addition, the lake effect snow machine will turn on, and some snow showers are possible later Sunday night and through Monday evening across the Berkshires and SVT
–Winds subside by Tuesday which looks fair but very cold with highs only in the low to mid 20s and lows in the single digits
–Some light snow is still possible Wednesday evening, with fair weather late week and possible storminess next weekend

Have a great day!
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