Winter Storm Watch for the Berkshires

Our good friends at the National Weather Service have issued a Winter Storm Watch for all of Berkshire County. The Watch period begins at 4 AM Tuesday--this is good news, snow day lovers--and ends at 7 AM Wednesday.

The Watch has been issued for two reasons: the potential for 7+ inches of snow and the potential for sleet and freezing rain throughout the day on Tuesday and into  Tuesday night.

There will be enough cold air in place for the event to begin as snow. Even if the snow starts two hours after the start of the Watch period, the morning commute tomorrow will be messy, and the chances of conditions deteriorating throughout the day now remain high.

Predicting this storm correctly has been like trying to fish for eel barehanded, but the GSD Staff now feel that snow days and early releases are both very possible for tomorrow because of the threat of a terrible road conditions at the close of the school day.

The radar shows little moisture to our west or south, but the low pressure will strengthen once it gets to the coast and become a nor'easter. This is what the Euro model was predicting four and five days ago, and we now think it may be right. Once it develops, we could see close to an inch of liquid precipitation within the first 24-hours of the storm. If it stays all snow, that would mean about a foot of snow. Any change to sleet or freezing rain, however, will bring that number down considerably.

Predicted snowfall through noon on Wednesday. The Berkshires are firmly in the 8" zone.

We'll have more info, of course, later today.