The holiday glow has worn off, the recent warm up had you thinking spring, and now the cold’s back…with another winter storm bearing down on us.
Key: Blizzard Warning in red, Winter Storm Warning in Pink and a Winter Weather Advisory in blue.
Terms like blizzard and white-out are being thrown around like this storm will rival the last two whoppers we’ve seen (earlier this month and last Feb.). Well, this will be a nasty storm – nor’easter if you’d like – but it won’t be as bad as the last two blizzards. (And while we’re at it, who can remember three blizzards in less than one year??) For one, tides are NOT astronomically high, and the storm will only pile up water on the front end of the storm, with winds turning offshore (NW) late tonight and tomorrow morning. In addition, the storm will put down less snow than the last two in Greater Boston. But let’s remember that the criteria for a blizzard says nothing about the amount of snow, it’s really just a moniker for the visibility.
Snow is flying now throughout much of Massachusetts (barely in the Merrimack Valley as of this typing). Intensity will remain heavy to moderate from Greater Boston south to the Cape through the night. Given that the storm will “freak out” (intensify rapidly) late tonight, as it rounds the Islands, there may be gravity waves that erupt from the storm and put us in lulls or pauses. This has been baked into the cake – so to speak – with our snow amounts:
Snow will be last to taper on the Cape/Islands thanks to Ocean Effect (similar to Lake Effect) through the morning and even into early afternoon! One update that we’ve made to the map above is to back off a little on the amounts in the Merrimack Valley and Southern NH. Based on new radar trends and weather maps, it appears that the heavy snow won’t ever get into that part of our viewing area and as a result, the pacing throughout the entire storm will be light/steady.
Lots of drifting with this storm through tonight and tomorrow. Snow will fluff and float in all that cold, arctic air. Travel slowly and wrap yourself up in this bitter air.
Be well.
Pete