The Vacation Extender: Nor'easter of Feb. 22/23

There has been little change to the forecast overnight, which means a big storm will be hitting the Berkshires. 

NWS Boston

Although we won't be in the jackpot zone--those honors go to southeastern New England--we still are expected to see 8-12". By our calculations, that is more than enough to cancel school on Monday.

The three big factors working in our favor: 1) Moderate and high snow totals; 2) Perfect timing; 3) High winds on Monday.

The snow is expected to start between 8 and 11 PM. It will snow first in South County and then gradually push northward. We may see a few flakes and even a light accumulation during the day today, but that is just bonus snow before the coastal storm really starts to intensify later in the day.

Meteorologists are expecting the heaviest snow to fall in the early hours of Monday, with rates of 1-2" per hour possible. It will definitely be snowing in the "golden hour" (4-5 AM) when Superintendents rise and determine the fates of hundreds of students and their families (at least for that day).

As we noted yesterday, we can not underestimate the wind with this storm and how difficult visibility is going to be Monday morning. Sustained 20 mph winds with gusts into the 40s will lead to white out conditions. There aren't too many bus companies that are going to willingly put their drivers out there in white out conditions.

NWS Albany

One factor that might work against some students is a sharp snow cut-off line on the northern edge of the storm. This cut-off line is currently forecasted to be in Vermont, but a slightly more southerly track could bring that cut-off line into Northern Berkshire county. South County schools will still be safe and well below that dreaded line.

At this juncture the GSD Staff is much more optimistic about this storm and its potential to extend public school students' vacations one more day. In fact, we expect several Superintendents to make their decision tonight.

The Staff will be monitoring things all day, and we'll do one more report in the late afternoon. Get the high snow boots out and have the shovels ready!