Winter Storm Watch for Sunday/Monday, January 29-30

We missed out on delays this morning (except for Stamford, VT), but we are very intrigued about the new developments for our late weekend storm. This afternoon (Friday) NWS Albany caught us off slightly off guard and threw out a Winter Storm Watch for Sunday into Monday.

The Watch duration is 6 AM Sunday to late morning Monday. The reason for the Watch is an increase in anticipated precipitation totals for the Berkshires. With 0.5" or more of liquid expected and a 10:1 liquid-to-snow ratio, NWS Albany decided to post the Watch.

The Watch can go one of two ways. We could get an upgrade to a Winter Storm Warning, which means 6+ inches for the region. We could also transition to a Winter Weather Advisory, which means snow totals below the 6" threshold. 

NWS Boston

Higher elevations towns will get higher snow totals with this event because there will be too much air in the valleys for it to really pile up. But eventually the cold air will seep into the valley and allow those lower elevation towns to get at least 2-4 inches. A big uncertainty is how early the transition from rain to snow will occur in the valleys.

As always the timing is crucial. With the end of the storm expected to be around 10 AM Monday, the timing is good but not ideal. If the storm ends earlier than expected--which is often the case--then school children will get delays but not full snow days.

Given the information we have right now, we have a feeling that the Winter Storm Watch is only going to become a Winter Weather Advisory tomorrow except for high elevation towns on the east side of the County. This does not mean that we won't get snow days on Monday. Some schools will. But the majority of us will see delays.

At least that's what we're saying right now.

Just a heads up to the faithful GSD readers that the Staff will be at one of our winter agricultural conferences in Boston this weekend. We will still be monitoring the weather (duh), but we probably won't be able to put up a new post at this site until Sunday morning. 

If any big changes occur tomorrow, we'll throw a quick update on the socials--Facebook (@GreylockSnowDay) and Instagram (@greylock_snow_day).

Wishful Thinking: Friday Delay and Monday Snow Day

We have two school-shortening weather opportunities in the next few days.

This afternoon, NWS Albany issued a Winter Weather Advisory for early Friday morning due an ice threat. Before you get too excited for a delay, this Advisory is for high elevation towns (1500' and above). This means the hilltown elementary schools, Adams-Cheshire, and Central Berkshire would have the best chance for an ice delay.

NWS Albany ice forecast for Friday morning.

And we are keeping an eye or two on a developing snow situation for Sunday night into Monday. The timing looks really good, but the question is: will cold air move in quickly enough to allow the snow to pile up? Models from earlier today were showing a range of 3 inches (American) to 8 inches (European). The fact that both models are showing snow for Monday is encouraging.

The American model for Monday. If the timing is right, this could be just enough to cause snow days.

There's a lot that could still change with this late weekend storm, but our interest is definitely piqued at the GSD Office.

We'll run a list of delays tomorrow should we see a few.

Delays for Wednesday, Jan. 24

Light snow is still falling at the GSD Home Office and the radar shows sleet moving into the county for the next hour or so. Most schools in the County have opted for the delayed the start of school today, but a few have upgraded to the full snow day (!).

TWO-HOUR DELAY (updated: 8:44 AM):

Adams-Cheshire

Berkshire Country Day

Berkshire Waldorf

Berlin (NY)

Central Berkshire

Emma Miller

Gabriel Abbott

Hancock

Lee

Lenox
Mohawk Trail

Mount Greylock

New Lebanon (NY)

North Adams

Pine Cobble

Richmond

SNOW DAY:

BART

Hillcrest

Pittsfield

Stamford (VT)