Weekend Weathermaker

Despite the brutally cold mornings this week, Old Man Winter is still having a tough time getting a firm footing in the Berkshires for the start of 2016.

The forecast is still for a mess this weekend. Unfortunately--this is a word we're using far too frequently this winter--we'll see more rain than snow by the end of the weekend. Friday night into Saturday morning will give us our best chance of snow, but there's not a lot of moisture associated with this disturbance (a tenth of an inch) and it will change to rain by late morning. Expect sleet to mix in as well. We might see the roads coated with some form of ice and snow Saturday morning, and it's likely you will not even need your shovel to deal with it. Roads will be slippery, though, for those Saturday morning errands.

Another disturbance will move into the Berkshires on Sunday, but this one will be all rain. Make that lots of rain. One to two inches have been forecasted for Sunday. Sunday sounds like a great day to enjoy some playoff football or catch up on a movie you didn't get to over the holiday vacation. Outdoor activities will be miserable.

We're still hopeful about the possibility of a more substantial snow event for the middle of next week. With a blast of cold air moving in from Canada, we'll have the chance for a measurable snow on Tuesday or Wednesday. There's not a lot of confidence with this prediction--we're trying to give you something to latch on to--but an inch or two is not out of the realm of possibility.

Keep hope alive.

Messy Weekend Ahead

Congratulations, of sorts, are in order for today's weather. We will not go above freezing for a daytime high today. This marks the latest we've ever gone into a winter season without having a day below 32 degrees. This record should not be too surprising given that we broke the latest measurable snow record at the end of December.

We laid out the rest of the week in our last post, but the GSD Staff wants to prepare you for a messy weekend of inclement weather. We could see precipitation starting Friday night that lasts all the way into Sunday.

There is a lot of meteorological confusion about what shape this next storm will take. Unfortunately, it won't be a major snow event and it will be confined to the weekend. A best case scenario right now is that it starts out with a few inches of snow Friday night, changes to sleet and rain on Saturday, and then returns back to snow for a few more inches on Sunday when a secondary low forms on the coast. Not all of the models are predicting this order of events--several do not have the secondary coastal low forming at all.

Just keep the rubberized boots handy, and we'll let you know more as we get closer to Friday.

A Monday Cold Slap

Happy 2016, Snowhounds!

Unfortuntately, vacation is over and it's time to head back to school and work tomorrow. And to compound the pain, we will be greeted with the coldest temperature we've felt since last March. The temperature will be the warmest of the day--a balmy 20 degrees--when you wake up tomorrow. Gradually, it will creep down throughout the afternoon before it bottoms out at 6 degrees on Tuesday morning. Bust out the face mask! (And no, don't even go there--a freeze delay is out of the question. If you're thinking those thoughts, you have a serious problem.)

Tuesday will be seasonably cold--mid-20s--but not as bad as Monday. The El Nino influence kicks back in again on Wednesday when we return to this years's seasonal norm of mid-40 temps.

And here's some even better news (said sarcastically): The next weather-maker for us could arrive Friday night. The models are in great disagreement, but one of them predicts a minor snow, sleet, and freezing rain event that would last into Saturday. Alas.

We're not optimistic that this storm will come to fruition, but one thing is certain: the dry pattern has changed, and we'll see several more opportunities for minor storms over the next three weeks. It will be gloomy more days than not, but that will increase the threat of snow.

Until the next time...