As High Tide Approaches, It's Been Almost Like A Cat 1 Hurricane For Nantucket
While most of you are digging out from a lot of snow, there is a more serious side to this storm. Part of the coastline have seen major flooding and Nantucket has experienced winds gusting between 60 and 80 miles per hour since early afternoon yesterday. A strong tropical storm or minimal hurricane would produce similar winds, but they wouldn't last nearly as long.
The upcoming high tide should not be as severe as the early morning one which just passed. Winds have turned a bit more northerly and this will help to keep as much water as we saw this morning out of the harbors. Nonetheless there will moderate coastal flooding in places due to the storm surge.
As of 11AM Framingham was reporting 30 inches of snow. This likely won't be the highest number reported, but is one of the highest so far. Snow will continue to become more banded nature this afternoon with the snow stopping completely at times and then resuming with more accumulation.
10AM Update
Although you'll likely want the snow to end, storms in the current spot we find this one, tend to hold onto the snow across eastern Massachusetts for several hours longer than west of Route 495. This means more snow will continue this afternoon with additional accumulation.
The image below is from one the NOAA satellites. The textured look to the clouds gives an indication of the intensity of the storm as those are likely some thunderstorms over the ocean.
Worcester as of 10:30 this morning has seen 26 inches of snow making this their third largest snowstorm on record and it's still coming down.
Mid-AM Update
The persistent heavy band of snow continues over the Route 495 belt where the heaviest accumulations will likely end up once the storm is over. Snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour or more continue.
I expect to see some holes start to develop this afternoon in the snow coverage as drier air works into the system. Winds remain gusty, but diminish late morning and early afternoon.
Morning Entry
Good morning. The blizzard continues with not much change to the forecast. The snowfall amounts will still be generally what was expected. Parts of Cape Cod will see more snow as the change to rain was limited to a small area. The storm has moved a hair further east and kept the rain/snow line from penetrating too far west. As I write this, Harwich is reporting rain and 34F.
Good morning. The blizzard continues with not much change to the forecast. The snowfall amounts will still be generally what was expected. Parts of Cape Cod will see more snow as the change to rain was limited to a small area. The storm has moved a hair further east and kept the rain/snow line from penetrating too far west. As I write this, Harwich is reporting rain and 34F.
I'll be on Twitter throughout the storm with the latest updates and taking any reports and questions from you. Find me @growingwisdom
The winds are going to continue to strong into the afternoon before slowly subsiding. The graph below gives an idea of the peak wind pattern and the decline. The time is located on the bottom.
This next map is for 1PM this afternoon. The winds at that time will have slackened over interior areas west of Route 128 and will be slowly diminishing along the coast, but gusting over 40 miles per hour.
Snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour will fall through noon over eastern Massachusetts. Here’s a little inside secret. Every forecaster wants to figure out where the heaviest snow is going ultimately show up when the storm is over. I think there will be two pockets of highest totals, perhaps as high as 30-36 inches. One will be out in the 495 belt where some very intense banding occurred this morning. Already Worcester has seen over 2 feet of snow.
The other, and perhaps more impressive set of total snowfall will occur somewhere in the Sandwich to Plymouth to Brockton to near Boston and another peak over the north shore. It’s impossible to say which town will become the winner of the snowfall contest and I’m not sure that’s a contest many want to win. I guess if you are going to have a blizzard, why not be the town with the most snow.
The power issue will get worse before it improves, but the very cold temperatures are helping. Boston is at 15F degrees and this makes the snow so light and fluffy it falls off of anything including trees and wires. The colder temperatures means the snow can pile up more than it would at a milder reading. The amount of snow can double at 15F from what it would have been if the snow had fallen at 30F. Click here to see a chart to see more about how temperature and snow amounts are related.
Snow Time Table
From 7AM until this ends, another 6-12 inches of snow is likely with the lower amounts furthest west. The snow won’t stop before dark, but will lighten during the afternoon. The last place to see the heavy snow taper will be eastern areas closest to the coast.
From 7AM until this ends, another 6-12 inches of snow is likely with the lower amounts furthest west. The snow won’t stop before dark, but will lighten during the afternoon. The last place to see the heavy snow taper will be eastern areas closest to the coast.
After 7PM there is still the risk for snow showers, but any accumulation overnight will be limited to 1 to 3 inches of new snow and this is primarily along the coastline. I think the risk of any snow is gone by sunrise tomorrow.
There is another bit of snow for Friday, but this looks quite tame with perhaps a light amount of accumulating snow. Colder weather follows this weekend.
end quote from:Some Areas Have Reached 30 Inches of Snow
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