Clean Sweep: Berkshire County Snow Day

Well, that couldn't have gone any better. The snow arrived right on time, and it continues to come down heavily Sunday evening. As of 8:30 PM, we have 6 inches on the ground at the GSD Home Office. We could be wrong but it would appear almost all schools in the Albany/Berkshires/Springfield region will enjoy an extra day of Thanksgiving vacation.

Now that you have one in the bank, we know you really only have one question: will it snow long enough and hard enough for another snow day on Tuesday? We're going to have to see how phase two--the coastal low--develops, but it's not out of the question. More likely we'll see delays on Tuesday.

Local snow reports from earlier this evening.

In case you missed it earlier, here's the list of cancellations for Monday, December 2:

CANCELLATIONS:

Adams-Cheshire
BART Charter
Berkshire Christian
BCC
Berkshire Country Day
Berkshire Hills
Berkshire Waldorf & HS
Central Berkshire
Childcare of the Berkshires (no services; offices closed as well)
Emma Miller Elementary
Farmington River Regional
Gabriel Abbott Memorial
Hancock
Lee
Lenox
McCann (No. Berkshire Voc.)
MCLA
Mohawk Trail
Mount Greylock Regional
New Lebanon
North Adams
Pine Cobble
Pittsfield
Richmond Consolidated
Southern Berkshire
Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union
Stamford Elementary
Twin Valley
Williams College (admin offices and Children's Center)

DELAYS:

Bennington College (until 10 AM)

Cancellations for Monday, December 2

CANCELLATIONS [last update 6:57 PM]:

Adams-Cheshire
Berkshire Christian
BCC
Berkshire Country Day
Berkshire Hills
Berkshire Waldorf & HS
Central Berkshire
Childcare of the Berkshires (but Magic Seasons & Monument Square -- 1 hr. delay)
Emma Miller Elementary
Farmington River Regional
Gabriel Abbott Memorial
Hancock
Lee
Lenox
McCann (No. Berkshire Voc.)
MCLA
Mohawk Trail
Mount Greylock Regional
New Lebanon
North Adams
Pine Cobble
Pittsfield
Richmond Consolidated
Southern Berkshire
Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union
Stamford Elementary
Twin Valley
Williams College (admin offices and Children's Center)

DELAYS:

Bennington College (until 10 AM)

Channel 10 Albany

NWS Albany

The first official flakes fell at the GSD Home Office at 12:56 PM. Several municipalities have declared Snow Emergencies. The Winter Storm Warning is now in effect. The radar shows that several bands of heavy snow (1-2" per hour) will come through later this afternoon and evening. The cancellation list is up and running.

But we do want to caution readers that there is a scenario where we get a quick burst of snow tonight and then a long lull in the snow until it picks up again tomorrow afternoon around the same time as today (2 PM or so). If the quick burst ends around midnight, road crews would have time to clear roads for the morning commute. And with the second round of snow not anticipated until the end of the school day, some districts might be able to sneak in a full day. That's why we continue to hold off on the 100% confidence rating.

If you have to go out, take care out there.

December's Here: Let It Snow

The Winter Storm Warning is still up for Berkshire County and has been extended for most other parts in our region, especially to our south.

(NWS Albany)

The storm will come in two phases. This afternoon and night we will see periods of moderate and heavy snow before a lull in the proceedings tomorrow morning. Then the snow will ramp up again midday when it will again snow at moderate and heavy rates. When we get the heavy snow, it will be coming down at 1-2" per hour. Almost everyone will see at least 10" of snow, with some lucky folks in higher elevations and in eastern parts of the County getting close to two feet by Tuesday morning.

The X-factor. (NWS Albany)

As we indicated yesterday, an X-factor for this storm will be the gusty winds, which will obfuscate just how hard it is snowing.

Many organizations have cancelled meetings and activities for this afternoon. MCLA, Westfield State and Mount Holyoke have cancelled classes for tomorrow. As soon as the first County school calls in a cancellation--which is inevitable--we'll start our running list. We do think several districts will make the call this evening because of the high expected snow totals and the prolonged nature of this storm.