WINTER STORM WARNINGS ARE NOW POSTED FOR THE BERKSHIRES, WESTERN HILLTOWNS, SVT AND SW.NH… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE NOW POSTED FOR CENTRAL+EASTERN HAMPDEN, HAMPSHIRE AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES AS WELL AS NW.CT AND CMASS… SNOW STARTS BY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING, AND STEADIEST/HEAVIEST SNOW IS LATE TONIGHT AND INTO THE PRE-DAWN HOURS OF TOMORROW MORNING… SNOW SQUALLS WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS, QUICK LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS, STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND EVEN THUNDER ARE EXPECTED FOR SOME TOMORROW AFTERNOON AS COLD ARCTIC AIR BLASTS INTO THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT… (7:00am Tues)

TODAY’S DATE: Tuesday, January 29, 2019

TERRESTRIAL:
HIGH AIR TEMPS: Highs should rise into the low 30s in the Berkshires/Taconics/Litchfields, western hilltowns, SVT/SWNH, and N. Worcester County, while we reach the mid 30s for the Pioneer Valley floor down into northern CT and in S. Worcester County.

LOW AIR TEMPS: Lows should drop into mid to upper teens region-wide

SKIES: Mostly cloudy to overcast as the day wears on

WINDS: Light southeast wind

NWS ALERTS: Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories continue across the region

CELESTIAL:
–OUR STAR WILL RISE AT: 7:06am this morning
–OUR STAR WILL SET AT: 5:00pm this evening
–OUR MOON WILL SET AT: 12:15pm this afternoon
–OUR MOON WILL RISE AT: 2:54am tomorrow morning
–MOON PHASE: Waning Crescent

SUMMARY:
–Snow showers will develop by early afternoon in spots, especially the more north and west you go
–Areas of northeast CT will change to rain most likely by this evening
–Areas south of the Pike and east into southern CMass will mix with rain at times
–North of the MA/CT border, snow becomes more steady this evening into the overnight as a secondary low approaches southern New England tonight while riding up along the parent low’s cold front
–The heaviest snow should fall between 10pm and 3am tomorrow morning
–Some snow showers may linger Wednesday morning around sunrise, but most should be done by then, roads are expected to be slippery as colder air comes crashing in as the storm departs

SNOWFALL AMOUNTS
–Northeast CT a coating to 2″ should do it
–The northwestern two counties in CT should see more like 2-4″, with up to 6″ in a few high elevation towns in northern Litchfield County
–Central+eastern Hampden and central+eastern Hampshire counties should see 2-5″
–Central+eastern Franklin county and northern Worcester County should see 3-6″
–Berkshire County, the western hilltowns in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties, and the Taconics should see 4-8″, maybe a touch higher in a few spots
–SVT and SWNH should see 5-10″
–Most of the snow will fall Tuesday evening into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, and quitting by about sunrise on Wednesday
–Any areas in northeast CT into southern MA that change to or mix with rain will flip back to snow after midnight before ending by sunrise

BRIEF BUT DANGEROUS SNOW SQUALLS POSSIBLE
–A very strong cold front that is expected to produce scattered intense snow squalls approaches Wednesday afternoon
–These squalls could drop a coating to 2 inches of snow in 15 minutes and produce very low visibilities in heavy snow and strong wind gusts of 35-50mph. Thunder is possible
–Behind that front and squall line temps plummet to below zero tomorrow night, and only in the single digits Thursday, with temps near zero Thursday night
–We moderate for Friday through Sunday which features fair weather
–Please stay tuned to my late afternoon evening post regarding updates on our incoming winter storm

Have a great day!