Freeze-y Friday

It's never too early to start thinking about snow day/freeze day #2 of 2018. We're off to a rip-roaring start, and we also like what the weather maps are showing us for next week. (But we'll hold off on those prognistications until we get through this deep freeze.)

So far, this storm is living up to expectations. Moderate and heavy snow bands are making their way through Berkshire County. The North County schools may have trimmed things just a wee bit close as roads were snow-covered and untreated when the children were released into the wild between 11 and 12.

1:45 PM radar: a classic Nor'easter

We expect the snow to stop between 10 and midnight. We should be in the 6-7 inch range when it's all said and done.

Even with the snow stopping tonight, blowing snow and frigid temperatures will be the big issues tomorrow morning. Poor road conditions could lead to delays tomorrow. Frigid temperatures--wind chills approaching -20 degress--could also lead to delays and freeze days tomorrow.

The other complication for Superintendents is that we will see high temperatures in the low single digits tomorrow, with the temperature dropping throughout the day (atypical). Because of the cold and the fear of stalling busses, the will of the bus company tomorrow is what will largely drive Superintendents' decisions for the length of the school day on Friday.

We'll probably see a few schools call in tonight, but most of you will have to sweat it out in the morning. The blowing snow and freeze should give at least half the schools in Berkshire County some extra time off tomorrow (delays or freeze days). Farmington River is already in with the 2-hour delay, but they made that decision yesterday.

Thursday MegaStorm: It's On

Light snow has broken out in much of Berkshire County. A few fingers of light snow have reached out across Berkshire County, but the heavy stuff is off to our south and will be hitting us later this morning and into the afternoon.

The 5 AM radar

Most schools will have a shortened day or no school at all. We do expect a few early releases to change to snow days. Here's our running list, which will update as the calls come in.

SNOW DAY:

MCLA
Berkshire Community College
Lee
BArT
Lenox
Central Berkshire
Pittsfield
Southwest Vermont SU (Mt. Anthony)
Berkshire Christian
Emma Miller Memorial
Southern Berkshire
Berkshire Hills
Richmond Consolidated
Berkshire Country Day
Farmington River
Southern Vermont College
Mohawk Trail
The Bement School

EARLY RELEASE:

Pine Cobble
Adams Cheshire
Mount Greylock
Williamstown
Lanesborough
Hancock
North Adams
Clarksburg

Thursday Storm: Late Evening Report

Hello again, Flake Followers. Sorry for the delay in getting this post out. All sorts of school decisions came in earlier in the evening, and if you checked in on Twitter you know where we stand on that front.

We have not heard from many districts, so you're going to have to set the alarm for tomorrow to find out your fate if your not on the list below. If you are on the Early Release list, there's certainly a chance you'll be upgraded to the full snow day.

Here's the skinny:

The amount of snow looks good: 5-9 inches.
The timing has improved significantly: storm starts between 5 and 7 AM.
The mindset of the Superintendent is unclear: many school heads still seem to reeling from last year's onslaught of snow days and are reluctant this year.
Wildcard factor: blowing and drifting snow; 40 MPH predicted in the afternoons.

Here are the maps. A few are not very inspiring:

Let's hope the earlier NWS-Albany map is "righter" than these. There should be enough snow to warrant many snow days, but we'll know more tomorrow morning. The radar looks like we will get hit hard, but it is a fast-mover.

We'll run a list of cancellations and early releases starting early tomorrow morning. To recap, here's what we have so far:

SNOW DAY:

Berkshire Hills
Richmond Consolidated
Berkshire Country Day
Farmington River
Southern Vermont College
Mohawk Trail

EARLY RELEASE:

Mount Greylock
Williamstown
Lanesborough
Hancock
North Adams
Clarksburg