Winter Weather Advisory for Tuesday; Updated Remote and Snow Days List

REMOTE/SNOW DAYS for Tuesday, February 9th (snow information below):

REMOTE DAY:

Mount Greylock

SNOW DAY:

Mohawk Trail 

The models are now indicating that 3-6 inches of snow will snow in the Berkshires on Tuesday, and because of that information, NWS Albany has issued a Winter Weather Advisory.

Most areas should see 3-4 inches throughout the day. Snow will start around 6 AM and continue for about 12 hours. Because of all the cold air in place (lows will drop to around 10 degrees later this evening), the snow will be very light and fluffy and could exceed the forecasters' expectations. If the storm is slightly stronger than expected--which is some models are predicting--we'll see places in the north and east in the county get 6 inches. If the storm fizzles the way Sunday's storm did, then we'll all end up with 2 inches. So 3-4 inches seems to be the safe bet.

The timing is really tricky for school superintendents tomorrow. Roads will be starting to get slick in the AM commute. The high school run of the buses could be okay, but the elementary school runs could be bogged down due to the snow. And then on the back end of the day, snow should still be falling steadily, which will put some families on edge. 

Another factor to consider here is the amount of snow, which seems manageable. Road crews should be able to mostly keep up with the snow if it falls at 1/2 an inch per hour. 

As a result of the timing, we think that the more conservative Superintendents will go to a full remote day. The more hearty Supers will try to power through the day without disruption. The GSD Staff has gone back and forth on this for the last hour or so, and our official position is that we think any school that opts for the full snow day will be an outlier. With vacation coming up next week, the pressure is on to have a full week of school.

We suppose the early release is in play, but we're not sure what the benefits will be. No matter how you slice it, snow should be falling at about the same rate at 11 AM as at will be at 3 PM. If a school decides to do in-person tomorrow, common sense would suggest that sticking it out for the full day is the least disruptive.

We'll start running a list weather-related adjustments to the school day as soon as they are announced. If you know of one ahead of time, reach out through social media.