Nothing But Cold Air

The biggest news today was that the storm--which wasn't as much of a bust as we might have been led to believe--did not generate a single delay or snow day in Berkshire County. We all expected county Superintendents to zig but they zagged.

Given their past records on 3-6 inch snow storms that end before or right around the morning commute, the Superintendents' collective decisions to all have a full day of school reeks of collusion.

(Actually, the real reason is that streets and roads were too warm, and it took several hours for the snow to accumulate on the roads, if it accumulated at all. Road crews didn't have that much snow to move, and they had plenty of time to do it.)

So, we missed this storm about as badly as we've missed one all season. Our apologies. And we won't have an opportunity to get right back on the horse because the next weather-maker will not arrive until Sunday when a mixed bag of precipitation is forecasted to impact our area Sunday afternoon and Sunday night.

What we will see over the next few days is a well-below average cold air mass on top of us. Tuesday won't be too bad (mid 20s) but we will get into the single digits Tuesday night, and Wednesday's highs will only be in the upper teens. We will almost get to 0 degrees on Wednesday night before we see a gradual warm-up to the upper 30s and mid-40s for the weekend.

There may be some stray lake effect snow showers over the next few days but no accumulation is expected.

A near miss.

Delays for Monday, March 4

The snow exited more quickly than expected, so road crews have gotten a jump on clearing the streets. Most schools in Massachusetts have delayed or cancelled school...but not the Berkshires. We have a few delays to report outside the Berkshires, and we'll update this list if there are changes.

TWO-HOUR DELAY:

Berlin
Mohawk Trail
New Lebanon
Southwest Vermont SU

Winter Storm Warning for South County; Advisory for North County

The GSD Staff had a sneaking suspicion that a slight uptick would happen, and the recent information we're seeing and reading shows a more moderate to heavy snow storm for South County and just a moderate storm for Pittsfield and towns to the north. NWS Albany has upgraded South County to a Winter Storm Warning--yes!--and the Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for North County.

The storm should start any minute now (6 PM), if it hasn't started already for you. The snow will be heavy and wet initially, and it should pick up in intensity toward midnight. The storm is a fast-mover, but it is certainly large enough to last into the morning commute. As a result of the bump in the forecasted snow totals, we're going to raise the chance for delay for all schools in the County.

Image courtesy of WNYT Albany Channel 13.

We still think that Southern Berkshire, Farmington River, Berkshire Hills and Lee and Lenox and even Central Berkshire should be in a good position for at least a delay tomorrow, and we cannot rule out a snow day for our school districts down on the Connecticut border.

Students in Adams/Cheshire, Mount Greylock, McCann, Clarksburg and Stamford are less likely to get a delay, but if the storm holds on just a little longer than it's expected to, we'll even see those students enjoy a late start to the day.

NWS Albany's latest forecast.

We recognize that many folks are ready to turn the page and get on to spring. Those of you who were out in the sun today probably felt that warmth that the March sun can bring. It did feel nice. But who really doesn't want a delay on a Monday morning? It's a long, long stretch until we get to April vacation, so we should make the most of these opportunities.

Think snowy thoughts. South County students have generally gotten the short end of the stick this winter, so hopefully this storm will do a little to make up for lost time for them.