Freeze Delays Announced

Breaking news for all GSD readers. Adams/Cheshire has called in the first delay for Thursday morning due to the anticipated unseasonably frigid and dangerous conditions. Congratulations, all you Hurricanes and future Hurricanes! Enjoy the shortened day.

[Shortly after this post, Pittsfield Public schools called in its delay. The dominoes are falling.]

We'll keep a running list here or at the bottom of any new posts we put up later today.

There isn't any really helpful new weather news. We could see a few more squalls this afternoon, but mostly we'll see the clouds start to break, setting up the clearing skies for low, low temps. Just how low we'll go is still up in the air, but at least -5 with the gusting winds taking the wind chill to -25 (at least).

2-HOUR DELAY:

Adams/Cheshire
Pittsfield

Southern Berkshire

Mount Greylock

Lee

Lanesboro 

Williamstown

New Lebanon

Central Berkshire
BArT
Berkshire Hills

CLOSED

North Adams

Hancock

Clarksburg 

Richmond

Florida 

Wind Chill Warning for the Berkshires

The National Weather Service has raised the stakes for our delay scenarios for tomorrow morning by issuing a Wind Chill Warning. The Warning lasts until 10 AM. This is good news for those in desperate need of a two-hour delay after three whole days of school without a break.

Wind Chill Warnings are rare and should not be taken lightly. The wind chill temp could approach -25 in the valleys and -40 in the higher terrains. That's some serious cold. If you have to go outside later tonight and tomorrow morning, winter mummification rules are in effect--no exposed skin. Frostbite can set in very quickly with air temps that low.

We do expect to see cautionary delays tomorrow morning for a few schools because of the Wind Chill Warning. Pittsfield is adding extra buses tomorrow morning for walkers, so that may be one district that will not have a delay.

Today, we could see up to 2" of snow as squalls move into the Berkshires. NOAA is even suggesting that a Winter Weather Advisory could be put up later today because the wind and blowing of snow will create blinding conditions.

All in all, the next 36 hours will be arctic, snowy, and blustery. Winter lovers,  rejoice!

Freeze Delays for Thursday?

While we are enjoying a most pleasant and innocuous light snow fall today, the GSD Home Office is really looking hard at the weather maps for Thursday morning as we deal with the onset of a crushing cold air mass. We strongly feel that some schools will choose to delay the start of school on Thursday because of the bitter cold.

Right now the major weather information sources (Weather Channel, Accuweather, Intellicast) have the Berkshires in the -6 to -11 zone for Thursday morning. If Wednesday night is cloudless, radiational cooling will drive the temperature well below zero. Compounding the problem of the severe cold is a harsh wind that will kick up during the day on Wednesday and carry through Thursday. Winds could gust to 40 mph on Wednesday--that will be refreshing! If winds are blowing around 20 mph in the overnight hours and on Thursday morning, they will make it feel as if it is -25 out. Brrr.

Now this looks like fun. Thanks, Accuweather, for the image.

For this reason we think several but not all schools will delay the start by a few hours to make sure buses are operating properly so students won't get stranded at bus stops. Also, anyone who walks to school will surely need a ride even after a two-hour delay.

Most buses have diesel engines, and diesel and subzero temperatures don't go well together. Buses are equipped with heaters to keep the diesel at an optimal temperature, but we've seen in the past that very low temps can knock buses out of commission.

As for snow, don't be surprised to see a few heavy squalls in the Berkshires tomorrow. These will be hit-or-miss and won't last very long, but they could coat the roads quickly. Our next chance is for more showers on Friday. There is a 1% chance of a weekend coastal storm that would impact school on Monday.

We'll have more info tomorrow in anticipation of the coldest air of the season on Thursday.