Winter Storm Warning For The Berkshires

Excellent news, dear Followers of the Flake. Around 3:30 AM on Tuesday, the National Weather Service declared a Winter Storm Warning for the Berkshires that begins at 5 PM tonight and ends at 3 PM tomorrow. Most meteorologists are now expecting 6-9 inches to blanket the Berks.

There are two components to this storm. First, there is a minor low-pressure system coming out of the Great Lakes that will give us snow throughout the day today. A giant swath (see below) of snow stretching all the way back to Texas will gradually press northeastward--moving directly over Berkshire County--and give us light snow throughout the day today. Expect 2-3 inches on the ground by sundown due to phase I of the storm.

The 5 AM radar. That is one long swath of snow, and it will track right over us throughout the day today.

But the real snowmaker for us will be a coastal low-pressure system that is supposed to form off the mid-Atlantic coast and track toward Cape Cod. This storm will gain in strength as it forms and moves northeastward. If it behaves the way the models say it will, snow will intensify later this evening and well into the day tomorrow, with periods of heavy snow--one inch per hour--expected.

A few days ago the forecast was for the snow to end shortly after the morning commute on Wednesday. Now, the storm looks to be ending in the early afternoon. This is the best piece of new information for those desperate for a snow day tomorrow.

Superintendents are between a rock and a hard place on this storm. It's been hard to get into an academic rhythm lately with the snow and freeze situation on January 4th/5th and MLK Jr. Day yesterday, so they might be reluctant to make the call tomorrow. But the perfect timing of this storm will likely force their hands, and they will have to call in the snow day.

Thanks, NWS Albany, for the map.

We'll have much more later today on this storm--projected snowfall totals keep going up--but our early prediction is for mostly snow days tomorrow if the storm behaves as expected, and mostly delays if it busts. Games and performances tonight will have to be postponed.