Light Snow for Christmas Eve

Winter weather nerds have particularly enjoyed the last three days. 

Around these parts, the Friday/Saturday snow overdelivered and dropped almost 4 inches of light fluffy snow at GSD Headquarters in Williamstown. We were only expected to get 1-2", so that was fun.

And then Monday morning, we woke up to bitterly cold air: -9℉ at 6 AM. Again, we did not expect to see the temp drop so low this morning. With no wind, no clouds, and snow on the ground, radiational cooling conditions allowed us to wake up to what might end up being the coldest air of the season.

Temps will moderate today and move closer to 20℉ by this afternoon in front of our next chance for snow. Another clipper will be passing through late tonight and into Tuesday morning. For those who have to go to work on Christmas Eve, the morning commute could be slow.

Euro forecast for Christmas Eve snow.

We are only expected to get 1-2" from this clipper, but it will be enough to ensure a white Christmas.

As for the rest of the week, it will be dry and getting gradually warmer. By Saturday we'll see temps in the 40s for daytime highs.

And in terms of the long-range snowstorm outlook, our two favorites models--the Euro and the North American--are not giving us much to work with. Both are showing a warm-up for next week. The Euro shows a chance for light snow on Jan. 2, and the North American is indicating a little light snow for Jan. 6. Things can and do often change, but right now no big storms are in the offing. 

Have a wonderful holiday! 

 

Snow Today (Friday, Dec. 20) and White Christmas Outlook

The GSD Staff holiday party ran later than expected last evening, so this post is a tad tardy.

We wish it were going to be more, but a weak Alberta Clipper is moving through our area right now and giving us a fresh coat of snow. It will only amount to an inch, if we're lucky.

Behind the snow are the coldest temps of the season. Some areas will see the mercury dip below zero Saturday night and Sunday night. The high temp on Sunday will be a frigid 14 degrees. Bundle up!

NWS Albany

There is a chance for more snow Monday night into Tuesday. We could see another inch or two. While it will not be enough to go sledding, the cold air in place should give us a white Christmas this year. It might be patchy in spots, but we should have a snow base of 1-2" by Wednesday.

Temps gradually rise back up into the 30s and 40s throughout the first week of vacation.

With school on break for two weeks, we'll be on break as well unless we see snow storms start to develop on the horizon. Have great holiday!

Snow Forecast for December 16-20

With the coldest air of the season in place--10° at GSD headquarters in Williamstown--winter is certainly here, and it's time to look ahead at the week ahead. Most school districts go on a two week vacation on Friday with the Christmas and New Year's falling on a Wednesday so this is our last chance for weather to impact school days for 2024.

We currently have two chances for delays and snow days. The first will be on Monday. A fairly weak low pressure system will move in from the west Sunday afternoon into Monday. It will start as snow but then change to rain in the late morning hours.

Both models are showing 1-2" of snow for the Berkshires. If the timing is right, we could see a few delays for districts Monday morning.

NWS Albany. Not much to write home about here.

The next chance for snow will again be on the front and back ends of a low pressure system that will impact our area mostly on Wednesday but into Thursday. The models are inconsistent but another shot of 1-3" is possible, especially in higher terrain.

It will not rain nearly as much as it did this past week, but the upcoming pattern is strikingly similar to last week.

Unfortunately, our confidence is low for delays on Monday or Thursday, but we are holding out hope that enough cold air will be in place to give some students shortened days.