Winter Storm Warning and Maps for the Big Storm (Jan. 25/26)

The thermometer read -5 at GSD Headquarters this morning, and we're seeing wind chills in the -20s. It's officially the coldest morning of the winter of 2025-26.

This storm is affecting a large swath of the country. Accuweather estimates that 146 million people are in Winter Storm Warning area from Texas to Maine.

The storm is still on track to dump a foot or more of light fluffy snow on us. The Winter Storm Warning was announced Friday (much earlier than normal) and is set to begin Sunday morning and end at 7 PM on Monday. 

Weather experts have moved the start time up. It appears the snow will start around 7 AM in southernmost Berkshire County and then the snow line slowly lifts, eventually getting to North Adams around 11 AM.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has declared a remote day for all non-essential state workers. She also has advised private companies allow people to work from home. Usually when that happens, public schools decide to close their doors for the day. Many schools and colleges in the Springfield area have already announced their closure for Monday. The only question for us in Berkshire County is when--not if--Superintendents will make their announcements about the snow day.

Here are some maps from around the country and the Northeast:

Boston Globe. Purple is definitely trending this year.

The Weather Channel. Love those pink fissures amid all that purple.

Accuweather. Keeping it conservative.

Channel 22 Springfield. Reminiscent of a homework assignment completed at the last moment.

Channel 10 Albany. The purple trend continues but the clash with the blue is unsettling.

NWS Albany. Reliable and autumnal.

Sunday/Monday Storm Update

The Berkshires will see an Extreme Cold Warning go into effect at 7 PM tonight. The temperature will drop below 0 tonight, and the wind is really going to pick up. Due to the cold and wind combo, frostbite can occur in only about 10 minutes of exposure. Taking your dog out Saturday morning is going to be challenging.

The phasing of two energy systems out west that we wrote about early in the week is going to happen. So, the coastal storm will stay closer to the coast and deliver a major snowstorm for the first time in a long time. The Euro model is showing a few more inches of snow for us than the North American model, but both show 7+ inches. 

Bring it on!

Meteorologists' consensus is that our area and much of Southern New England will see 10-18 inches of snow, with some parts getting 2 feet. Pittsfield has a 58% chance of exceeding 12" of snow. 

The snow is still expected to begin around noon on Sunday--give or take an hour--and continue through Monday afternoon or early evening. The heaviest snow will fall Sunday evening with rates of 1-2" per hour.

Most indicators are pointing to snow days for all for Monday, but there is a chance that we see just 8" of snow with most of it falling Sunday night as the storm takes a slightly more southern track. Eight inches is probably enough for a snow day decision, but if it wraps up earlier than expected, delays would be in order.

We'll have more snow prediction maps later today.

Major Storm Heading Our Way

It's wild how much chatter there is about this storm that's not scheduled to start until about noon on Sunday.

Thursday night's Euro model. Close to a foot for all!

Here are key pieces of info:

*A Winter Storm Watch is already in effect for Sunday/Monday, which is an earlier than usual posting of this kind of alert.

*It will be a long duration storm, perhaps lasting 30-36 hours. Heaviest snow will fall Sunday night with lighter snow rates expected throughout the day on Monday.

*The forecast for liquid precipitation is around 1.0 inch. The typical ratio of 12 inches of snow to every one inch of liquid is too low for this storm because of how cold it is. We will likely see 15:1 or 18:1 ratios. The snow quality will be light and fluffy.

*Blowing and drifting of the snow will become an issue Monday night into Tuesday, setting up possible delays on Tuesday.

*If NWS Albany moves the Winter Storm Watch to a Winter Storm Warning--probably Saturday morning--the only question will be when on Sunday your Superintendent is going to call for the snow day on Monday.

*But...the storm could shift south, which would significantly reduce our snow totals. It's not a slam dunk just yet.