Storm Coordination Message #2 – Wednesday November 23rd, 2011 Storm Event
Hello to all..
..The Amateur Radio SKYWARN team and NWS Taunton forecasters wish all Amateur Radio Operators and SKYWARN Spotters a very Happy Thanksgiving and are extremely thankful for all the support received during the historic 2011 severe weather season..
..Strong Storm System to Adversely affect travel across the Northeast United States Wednesday on the busiest travel day of the year due to expected high traffic volume typical of the day before Thanksgiving and the storm impacts..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect for Franklin County Massachusetts and Cheshire and West-Central Hillsborough Counties of New Hampshire from 10 PM Tuesday Evening through 2 PM Wednesday for 1-3 inches of snow and a tenth of an inch of ice with snow amounts up to 5 inches possible especially in Northern Cheshire County New Hampshire and possibly in the higher elevations of the advisory area. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for neighboring Rockingham County New Hampshire and Coastal York County Maine from Midnight to 6 PM Wednesday for similar conditions..
..Across the remainder of Southern New England widespread rainfall of 1 to 3 inches with the heaviest rainfall occurring in the morning through early afternoon will adversely affect the morning commute and any holiday travellers during this timeframe. This rainfall may cause pockets of urban and poor drainage flooding and rapid within bank rises across area rivers. Strong winds will also be possible during and after the heavy rainfall lightens up along coastal areas of the region with sustained winds 20-30 MPH with gusts 40-45 MPH possible..
..Minor Coastal Flooding is possible on the Wednesday Morning high tide along East Coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands. This could cause minor street flooding of typical shore roads with onshore flow and a high astronomical high tide..
..Areas of Northern New England and Northeast New York will be getting a widespread heavy snow event with some mixed precipitation. Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for much of these areas. Due to Wednesday being a busy travel day, these statements have been provided in the coordination message for those Amateur Radio Operators and SKYWARN Spotters travelling on Wednesday or to provide for people that they know are travelling on Wednesdsay. If you are going to these areas, travel would be best prior to Wednesday or later Wednesday Evening after the heaviest snow has passed and roads can be treated in these areas..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will be utilized to monitor conditions Wednesday around the region. Ops at NWS Taunton are unlikely to be utilized but that will be monitored closely..
The entire Amateur Radio SKYWARN team would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving from our team and on behalf of the NWS Taunton forecasters. We are very grateful for all the support received across all of the activations during 2011 and the particularly historic severe weather events that include the June 1st tornado outbreak, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Irene, and the Snowtober Nor’easter. The day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year, will feature a strong storm system bringing a myriad of weather threats to the region adversely impacting travel Wednesday.
A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 10 PM this evening through 2 PM Wednesday Afternoon for Cheshire and West-Central Hillsborough Counties New Hampshire and Franklin County Massachusetts. In this area, widespread 1-3″ of snow with one-tenth of an inch of ice is possible. Isolated snowfall amounts of up to 5 inches are possible in Northern Cheshire County New Hampshire as well as the higher elevations of the advisory area. It is noted that the NWS Gray Maine office has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for neighboring Rockingham County NH and coastal York County Maine for similar conditions. The snow and ice in these areas is expected to changeover to rain late Wednesday Morning in these areas.
Across other parts of Southern New England, there could be a brief period of snow in higher elevations and other locations in extreme northwest parts of Massachusetts that neighbor the Winter Weather Advisory area but little accumulation is expected before a change over to rain and the rain will be heavy at times across this area and precipitation will start as rain elsewhere across Southern New England and be heavy at times. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are likely over a widespread area. This rainfall will hamper the morning commute in particular but should lessen in intensity after midday. The rain could cause minor urban and poor drainage flooding in the typical areas and slow down traffic that may already be at high volume across the region. Rapid within bank river rises are possible but no river or stream flooding is expected but this will be monitored.
Strong winds will accompany the rainfall and occur after the heaviest rainfall has passed along coastal areas. Sustained winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 40 to 45 MPH will be possible. These strong winds from a northeast direction may result in minor coastal flooding at the time of high tide across East Coastal Massachusetts. This could result in the vulnerable shore roads being flooded for an hour or two either side of the Wednesday Morning high tide. This is expected to be a minor coastal flood event across East Coastal Massachusetts.
Areas of Northern New England and Northeast New York will be getting a widespread heavy snow event with some mixed precipitation. Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories are in effect for much of these areas. Due to Wednesday being a busy travel day, these statements have been provided in the coordination message for those Amateur Radio Operators and SKYWARN Spotters travelling on Wednesday or to provide for people that they know are travelling on Wednesdsay. If you are going to these areas, travel would be best prior to Wednesday or later Wednesday Evening after the heaviest snow has passed and roads can be treated in these areas.
SKYWARN Self-Activation will be utilized to monitor conditions Wednesday around the region. Ops at NWS Taunton are unlikely to be utilized but that will be monitored closely. This will likely be the last complete coordination message on this storm event as we moved to SKYWARN Self-Activation Operations mode. If time allows, a shortened coordination message may be sent to update the situation due to Wednesday being one of the busiest travel days of the year. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook as well as statements from surrounding offices on storm impact in Northeast New York and the remainder of New England:
NWS Taunton Massachusetts Winter Weather Advisory:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html
NWS Taunton Massachusetts Hazardous Weather Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html
NWS Gray Maine Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/me/latest.wwus41.KGYX.html
NWS Caribou Maine Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/me/latest.wwus41.KCAR.html
NWS Burlington Vermont Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/vt/latest.wwus41.KBTV.html
NWS Albany New York Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/vt/latest.wwus41.KALY.html
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)
Work Phone #: 508-346-2929 (8 AM-5 PM)
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
http://ares.ema.arrl.org
http://beta.wx1box.org