Chance for Delays on Friday (12-6)

For the calendar year 2013, we only have 15 snow day opportunities left. Can you believe it?

Here's the deal for the week of December 2nd. There had been an outside chance for a coastal storm (per the computer models) on Tuesday, but that ship sailed out to sea. Monday through Thursday are looking dry and fairly warm for this time of the year (high 30s, low 40s).

But Thursday night is when things start to get unsettled. While it does not look like a major storm is brewing, there could be enough precipitation and cold air streaming into our area to generate a messy commute on Friday. It's much too early to pin down any kind of clear time span for this period of wintry precipitation, but we'll keep our focus on Friday. The snow/sleet could extend into Saturday.

Keep your hopes up, dear Friends of GSD. We are in a generally unsettled pattern, and enough cold air is in place for snow, sleet, and freezing rain to fall in the Berkshires. Expect updates throughout the week.

Thanksgiving Storm Update

The National Weather Service is covering its behind by announcing a Winter Weather Advisory until 5 AM on Wednesday for Berkshire County. We at GSD think this announcement is overly optimistic that wintry precipitation will fall in our area.

As of 10 PM on Tuesday night, a steady rain was falling at the home office in Billsville with a temperature reading of 32.5 degrees. We might see the temps drop a degree or so, so icing is possible, but the radar and the generally warm feel to the air out there suggests there won't be significant icing in the overnight hours.

For those readers who have school on Wednesday, we'll keep a 10% chance in our Confidence Meter, but we think you'll have to endure your full half day before you're on a glorious four-day break from your edifice of higher learning.

We'll post later in the week with our long-range forecast for December.

Chance for a Pre-Storm Delay (11/26)

The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement for the Berkshires due to possible bursts of snow during the commute on Tuesday. With plenty of cold air in place overnight and a lot of moisture on the way in advance of the big Wednesday storm, we could be surprised with an inch on the ground as we make our way to school tomorrow.

Here's what the radar looked like at 10 PM on Monday:

The patch of blue out there in western New York is headed in an easterly direction and should arrive in the Berkshires around 4 AM. We don't think they'll be delays--superintendents will likely be caught off guard by this one--but we'll at least acknowledge this minor weathermaker with a 10% chance on the ol' True North Confidence Meter.

More about Wednesday's storm tomorrow.