Winter Weather Advisory for Friday, Feb. 20

The Winter Weather Advisory that we just had on Wednesday proved to be a bust at the GSD Home Office--just a few wet flakes and no accumulation--and we now have a second Advisory level storm to deal with on Friday.

Your weather app may be showing a moderate snowfall for Friday into Saturday, but we're not so sure this storm is going to generate that much snow.

NWS Albany

The Winter Weather Advisory is calling for a combination of mixed precipitation and snow. The forecast is for 2-4" for the County, with a the northeast hill towns seeing up to half a foot. Southern Vermont and the Adirondacks have Winter Storm Warnings posted. 

According to NWS Albany meteorologists, the precipitation will start as snow then transition to mixed precipitation then switch back over to snow. We should be right around 32 degrees for the day, which is why we will see snow and mixed precipitation. The transitions are supposed to happen throughout the day and early evening then snow showers will continue after midnight. If there is a period of heavier snow, it will take place well after dark. 

Accuweather's map shows the path of this clipper system.

Both the North American and Euro models are showing 4-6", but the shorter-term NAM model is showing less precipitation. The runs of the NAM model are telling us that snow totals will be on the lower end of the 2-4" prediction and we agree with that prediction.

Expect a messy day on Friday!

Winter Weather Advisory -- Wed. Feb. 18

We have another midweek Winter Weather Advisory to deal with. This one again results from a clipper system that will move into our area this afternoon. We should see 1-3" around Berkshire County when the snow finishes up before midnight.

Because it's so warm out, the storm may start with a period of wintry mix before it transitions to all snow as the air column cools. This snow will be wet and heavy.

NWS Albany snow map for Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Wintry mix and/or snow should start this afternoon around 2 PM in most locations. Any games or events this evening may be cancelled, but the more intrepid ADs and Superintendents will carry on.

The next storms are expected to impact our area Friday and Sunday/Monday. Friday's storm will be similar to tonight's storm. And we're definitely keeping an eye on the late weekend storm to see if it will impact school on Monday. The models are not in agreement so it may be a long shot, but meteorologists keep mentioning the possibility so we'll stay on it.

Winter Weather Advisory for Tuesday Night, Wednesday Morning

Today the National Weather Service expanded the Winter Weather Advisory to include the Berkshires because of a slight shift in the forecast. We are still expected to get 1-2" of snow--with a few places in Northern Berkshire getting 3"--but we may see a period of icing before this clipper system slides on by.

The expected ice accumulation is not supposed to be particularly thick, but it could be enough of a hazard to cause delays for the Wednesday morning bus runs.

We think many road crews will be able to handle the low snow total and potential ice, but we expect at least a few schools will go with the delayed start. South County school districts have a higher chance for ice, so our best bets for delays will be schools around or south of I-90.

NWS Albany ice map for tomorrow (Wednesday AM). This is the only time we will be rooting for ice to come into our community.

We'll run a list tomorrow morning should a few districts call in the 2-hour delay.