Winter Weather Advisory -- Friday 11 PM to Saturday 11 PM

It's the weekend, but with all the activities going on this weekend, the GSD Staff felt it necessary to give one more update about the approaching double-barreled storm.

Snow totals have been raised for our area based on new runs of the models. NWS Albany is now predicting 2-6" for the Berkshires. The 2" will (potentially) fall in the valleys and the 6" will fall in the northeastern mountain towns.

NWS Albany

The first burst from this storm will come in as snow. There will be enough cold air in place for snow. Part 2 of the storm--as moisture moves in from the south--could produce icing. Warm air will come in over the top of the cold air. This scenario produces ice--both sleet and freezing rain. 

The real concern is freezing rain as that will put a glaze of ice on everything. We could see up to a 1/6" of ice in some places. Because it will be windy, that should help knock some of the ice off tree branches before it can build up too much, which will help diminish the potential for power outages. But heavy icing on trees can definitely lead to significant problems for all.

Here's the timing:

*Snow gets going around here around midnight. And it will come down for several hours.
*Sleet and freezing rain should start to factor in around 5 AM, give or take an hour.
*Gradually, the snow and ice will shift over to all rain, which will continue throughout the day.
*As the storm exits Saturday night, we should see a brief period of snow. 

*Sunday will be dry but windy.

Our only concern about tomorrow is the threat of ice between 5 AM and 8 AM. If you have to be out on the roads, take care to check the conditions before you head out.

NWS Albany

Have a great weekend. Stay safe out there!

Welcome To Spring--Snow Expected Friday Night

It's officially Spring, so of course we have to report the chance for shovel-able snow Friday night into Saturday.

It's been a very wintry start to Spring, which began early than normal this year (the 19th) due to Leap Day. It's been cold, snowy, and blustery all week. This week alone we picked up over 2" of snow from three different minor events, including the thundery snow squall Wednesday night. But we are still way, way below average for this winter. And as many students know too well, many districts have not enjoyed even one snow day this winter.

Time is just about expired on Winter 2023-24, but a few more inches of snow are possible Friday night. There is A LOT of moisture with this storm. Many in the Berkshires will see over an inch of liquid precipitation by the time it stops late Saturday night. Unfortunately, it will begin as snow and then shift over to mixed precipitation for a short period and then all rain for most of the day on Saturday.

Expected snow Friday night into Saturday (NWS Albany).

High terrain areas will get more snow. Valley areas might see wet flakes with some accumulation on grassy areas. Snow should start to fall after midnight (Friday). It could changeover to rain at 5 AM; it could changeover at 11 AM. Either way, Saturday is going to be a washout with rain and temps rising through the 30s throughout the day--a perfect day for indoor activities.

Fortunately, Sunday looks clear but cold and windy again (like Thursday). We probably won't see a Wind Advisory, but it will feel downright raw when you head outside on Sunday.

Temps are trending upward for next week. We should see 50 degrees on Monday and Tuesday with a chance for rain on Wednesday.

Winter Weather Advisory For Sunday Night & Monday (March 10-11)

We're skeptical, but many in Berkshire County could wake up to 2-4 inches of snow Monday morning, with higher amounts in the western part of the county.

NWS-Albany has announced a Winter Weather Advisory for this evening through noon on Monday. In terms of delays/snow day chances, the expected timing of the snowfall is very good.

After all the rain last night, phase two of the storm will kick in this afternoon (Sunday). Overnight we will see something called "upslope snow" as the low pressure system moves into the Berkshires from the Great Lakes. Usually we talk about high amounts for the eastern parts of the county with storms, but this situation could yield higher amounts of snow for western Berkshire County.

If the models and forecasting prove to be accurate--and we know how that typically goes--we will definitely see delays tomorrow, with the most likely candidates in the northern half of the county. But again, we're skeptical.

The lesser known HRRR (High-Resolution Rapid Refresh) model. Meteorologists like to focus on this model once a storm is within 24 hours of impacting an area.

We're going to bump up the Confidence Meter slightly just in the offhand chance that the models and meteorologists are mostly right this time.