"Real" Storm For Monday?

The Alberta Clipper came through mostly as advertised and dropped 3-6 inches on the Berkshires. Northern Berkshire County--again--appeared to be the winners with most schools north of Pittsfield going with the two-hour sleep in.

Earlier in the week we mentioned the possibility of big bomber next Thursday. Well, we may not have to wait that long for our biggest storm of the season. It could happen as early as Sunday night.

Image courtesy of Accuweather.

Before you get too excited about Accuweather's map, understand that most meteorologists haven't quite settled on what track this storm will take. Today alone we've seen forecast maps that gives 2-4 inches, 5-7 inches, and 9-11 inches, so it's far from a certainty about what is going to happen on Monday.

One of the big things going for this storm is that it's a traditional coastal storm, which we haven't seen in a while. The sleet storms and the Alberta Clippers are all fine, but those are storms with low pressure systems that come across land and often lack the punch of a coastal storm. A coastal storm is a real storm with opportunities for fun words like cyclo- and bombogenesis. You don't get that from a weakling Alberta Clipper.

Sunday night's storm will be all about the track. A shift in the track by 50 miles could greatly impact the amount of snow we get. Because there will be a fair amount of cold air in place over New England, there will be a sharp cut off along the line where the northern edge of the storm and the cold air meet. Those north of the line will see just a few inches; those just to the south of the line will see a moderate to heavy snowfall. The models are all showing a diagonal swath of 6-12 inches of snow (southwest to northeast) somewhere across the Northeast. That swath could center on New York City/Boston or it could center on Bangor/Fredericton (N.B.).

By late Saturday we should have a clearer sense of the track and whether or not Berkshire students will be enjoying a three-day weekend or not.