Storm Coordination Message #3 – Saturday Evening 2/16/13-Sunday 2/17/13 Winter Storm Event – Spotter Webform Remains Out of Service

Hello to all..

..The NWS Taunton Spotter Webform remains out of service until further notice. While the user can input data and the webform appears to accept the data, forecasters are unable to see the data entered. Spotters that don’t have a means to report via Amateur Radio are asked to utilize the WX1BOX twitter and facebook feeds or send a reply to this email address for snow totals and any damage reports for the upcoming winter storm. The spotter phone line is also available but using digital means to keep the spotter phone line from being overloaded are appreciated. In addition, Ops at the WX1BOX Amateur Radio station will be active starting no later than 5 AM Sunday for the upcoming winter storm. The typical coordination mesage for this storm begins below..

..Models in better agreement on a Moderate to Heavy Snowstorm for Eastern New England. Still a bit higher uncertainty than normal despite close time range of Winter Storm impacts but better model agreement has led to greater confidence and a closer to the coast storm solution marking a bit of an upgrade to the storm situation..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect until 7 PM Sunday Evening for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island including Block Island Rhode Island for 4-8″ of snow with isolated higher amounts along Southeast Coastal Massachusetts and Southeast Coastal Rhode Island possible. Near whiteout conditions may occur for a time due to heavy snow and winds sustained at 20-30 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH. The winds and snow may cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages but this is expected to be less than what occurred during last week’s blizzard..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for all of Cape Cod and the Islands until 7 PM Sunday Evening for 6-10 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts to 12″ along portions of the mid to Outer Cape and Nantucket Island, and a period of near blizzard conditions. Also, a High Wind Warning is now in effect from 5 AM to 10 PM Sunday for Cape Cod and the Islands for sustained winds of 30-45 MPH with gusts to 55-60 MPH. The combination of wet snow, which should get drier as the storm progresses, and strong to damaging winds will bring the potential for scattered tree and wire damage and scattered power outages. While a period of near blizzard conditions and strong to damaging winds and scattered pockets of damage is likely, the impact is expected to be less than last weekend’s blizzard. This will be monitored closely..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect until 1 PM Sunday for Windham County Connecticut, Worcester, Middlesex, and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts, and Hillsborough Counties New Hampshire for 3-6″ of snow and the possibility of isolated tree and wire damage from wind gusts up to 40-45 MPH in this area..
..A Wind Advisory is in effect for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Eastern and Southern Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and Washington, Newport Counties of Rhode Island for sustained winds of 25-35 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH..
..Areas west of the current Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory areas are expected to receive less than 3 inches of snow from this event with wind gusts below Wind Advisory criteria at this time..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence by 5 AM ET Sunday lasting through Sunday Evening to cover this winter storm threat..

Please note the problem with the web spotter form which is expected to continue through the duration of this storm event. We appreciate everyone’s support in using alternative methods to pass on their spotter reporting data.

Weather models have come into better agreement on the evolution of the ocean storm leading to greater confidence on the evolution of the storm and impacts across Central and Eastern New England, however, confidence is still somewhat lower than normal with a storm impact about to occur in the region. The trend has been for a slightly closer to the coast storm solution and this has led to a bit of an upgrade in the storm scenario for stronger winds and heavier snowfall in Eastern New England. This has led to an upgrade of Winter Weather Advisories to Winter Storm Warnings for portions of Eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island and expansion of Winter Weather Advisories to Central Massaschusetts, Northeast Connecticut and Southeast New Hampshire as highlighted in the headlines of this storm coordination message. Also, High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories have been posted for portions of Eastern New England as highlighted in the headlines of this coordination message.

Given what occurred in the blizzard last weekend with extended power outages in Southeast New England, here is some additional guidance on what is expected for this storm scenario. At this time, winds will not be quite as strong as last weekend’s blizzard and the wet snow duration should not be quite as long as last weekend’s blizzard. This should mean less impact to the region that was hit hard by power outages from last weekend’s blizzard but there will likely be some isolated to scattered tree and wire damage and power outages for Southeast New England from this storm event presuming the current model track and forecast holds. This will be monitored closely throughout the storm event.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence by 5 AM ET Sunday lasting through Sunday Evening to cover this winter storm threat. This will likely be the last coordination message on this storm situation. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snowfall Map:

NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Snowfall Map:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/StormTotalSnow/index.php

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

Hello to all..

..The NWS Taunton Spotter Webform remains out of service until further notice. While the user can input data and the webform appears to accept the data, forecasters are unable to see the data entered. Spotters that don’t have a means to report via Amateur Radio are asked to utilize the WX1BOX twitter and facebook feeds or send a reply to this email address for snow totals and any damage reports for the upcoming winter storm. The spotter phone line is also available but using digital means to keep the spotter phone line from being overloaded are appreciated. In addition, Ops at the WX1BOX Amateur Radio station will be active starting no later than 5 AM Sunday for the upcoming winter storm. The typical coordination mesage for this storm begins below..

..Models in better agreement on a Moderate to Heavy Snowstorm for Eastern New England. Still a bit higher uncertainty than normal despite close time range of Winter Storm impacts but better model agreement has led to greater confidence and a closer to the coast storm solution marking a bit of an upgrade to the storm situation..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect until 7 PM Sunday Evening for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island including Block Island Rhode Island for 4-8″ of snow with isolated higher amounts along Southeast Coastal Massachusetts and Southeast Coastal Rhode Island possible. Near whiteout conditions may occur for a time due to heavy snow and winds sustained at 20-30 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH. The winds and snow may cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages but this is expected to be less than what occurred during last week’s blizzard..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for all of Cape Cod and the Islands until 7 PM Sunday Evening for 6-10 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts to 12″ along portions of the mid to Outer Cape and Nantucket Island, and a period of near blizzard conditions. Also, a High Wind Warning is now in effect from 5 AM to 10 PM Sunday for Cape Cod and the Islands for sustained winds of 30-45 MPH with gusts to 55-60 MPH. The combination of wet snow, which should get drier as the storm progresses, and strong to damaging winds will bring the potential for scattered tree and wire damage and scattered power outages. While a period of near blizzard conditions and strong to damaging winds and scattered pockets of damage is likely, the impact is expected to be less than last weekend’s blizzard. This will be monitored closely..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect until 1 PM Sunday for Windham County Connecticut, Worcester, Middlesex, and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts, and Hillsborough Counties New Hampshire for 3-6″ of snow and the possibility of isolated tree and wire damage from wind gusts up to 40-45 MPH in this area..
..A Wind Advisory is in effect for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Eastern and Southern Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and Washington, Newport Counties of Rhode Island for sustained winds of 25-35 MPH with gusts to 45-50 MPH..
..Areas west of the current Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory areas are expected to receive less than 3 inches of snow from this event with wind gusts below Wind Advisory criteria at this time..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence by 5 AM ET Sunday lasting through Sunday Evening to cover this winter storm threat..

Please note the problem with the web spotter form which is expected to continue through the duration of this storm event. We appreciate everyone’s support in using alternative methods to pass on their spotter reporting data.

Weather models have come into better agreement on the evolution of the ocean storm leading to greater confidence on the evolution of the storm and impacts across Central and Eastern New England, however, confidence is still somewhat lower than normal with a storm impact about to occur in the region. The trend has been for a slightly closer to the coast storm solution and this has led to a bit of an upgrade in the storm scenario for stronger winds and heavier snowfall in Eastern New England. This has led to an upgrade of Winter Weather Advisories to Winter Storm Warnings for portions of Eastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island and expansion of Winter Weather Advisories to Central Massaschusetts, Northeast Connecticut and Southeast New Hampshire as highlighted in the headlines of this storm coordination message. Also, High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories have been posted for portions of Eastern New England as highlighted in the headlines of this coordination message.

Given what occurred in the blizzard last weekend with extended power outages in Southeast New England, here is some additional guidance on what is expected for this storm scenario. At this time, winds will not be quite as strong as last weekend’s blizzard and the wet snow duration should not be quite as long as last weekend’s blizzard. This should mean less impact to the region that was hit hard by power outages from last weekend’s blizzard but there will likely be some isolated to scattered tree and wire damage and power outages for Southeast New England from this storm event presuming the current model track and forecast holds. This will be monitored closely throughout the storm event.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence by 5 AM ET Sunday lasting through Sunday Evening to cover this winter storm threat. This will likely be the last coordination message on this storm situation. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snowfall Map:

NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Snowfall Map:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/StormTotalSnow/index.php

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

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