As the ingredients come together for this storm, the weather community is buzzing. The amount of energy going into the storm is staggering. Winds will crank, snow will fly for the Cape, and the rest of the Commonwealth sits on the sidelines.
In awe.
By tomorrow afternoon, we could well have a wintercane on our hands south of Nova Scotia. Since the definition doesn’t exist in the American Meteorological Society’s Glossary of Meteorology, the term is loosely defined. Essentially, you need hurricane force winds (check), a eye feature (check) and deep low pressure (check). At its deepest, the storm could hit 950mb, which is a mere 10 mb higher than Sandy.
Now that we’ve identified this beast, who gets closest to the fire? Of course, that’s the Cape and Nantucket. As a result of the deep storm and it’s accompanying wind field, I’m shifting my slant from snowstorm to windstorm. Sure, a half foot of snow is a lot (on the outer Cape) but the wind is the big bully here. Power outages are likely on the Cape, so prepare your batteries and flashlights.
Details:
- Startup time for the snow on the Cape/Islands is 3-5 am.
- Snow starts 5-7am on the South Shore/Buzzards Bay and never really gets going elsewhere (intermittent & spotty)
- Winds an issue all day along the coast, but the fiercest wind on the Cape is late morning to early afternoon
- Gusts 35-45 Boston, North/South Shore. On the Cape/Islands wind cranks to 55-65!
Snow is paltry/non-existent for many, heaviest on the Cape.
As mentioned yesterday, this storm is so big, it will physically alter the weather pattern over North America. That allows us to drive a stake through the heart of winter and warm things up. From 40s on Thursday to potentially 60s on Friday? Some are saying bring on the storm.
Unfortunately, for those on the Cape/Nantucket and Nova Scotia/Cape Breton Island, this is not a time to celebrate.
Pete