Hello to all..
..Major Nor’easter/Blizzard Remains Likely for Southern New England. Preparations for this major system should be completed by Friday Morning at the latest..
..A Blizzard Watch remains in effect from Friday Morning to Saturday Afternoon for Essex, Central and Southeast Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Northern Bristol and Western Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and Providence and Kent Counties of Rhode Island for potential blizzard conditions and 18 to 24 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts..
..A Blizzard Watch is now in effect from Friday Morning through Saturday Afternoon for Southern Worcester, Eastern Plymouth, Southern Bristol and Southern Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and Bristol, Plymouth and Washington Counties Rhode Island for 18 to 24 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts and sustained winds 25-35 MPH with gusts to 65 MPH possible leading to the potential for blizzard conditions. While a mix or possible changeover to rain may occur, precipitation is expected to change back to all snow and be extremely heavy at times coupled with strong to damaging winds leading to very heavy snowfall amounts and the potential for blizzard conditions. The Winter Storm and High Wind Watches have been cancelled as the Blizzard Watch covers both of these threats..
..A Blizzard Watch is now in effect for Cape Cod and the Islands from Friday Morning through Saturday Afternoon for 10-16 Inches of snow and sustained winds of 40-50 MPH with gusts to 75 MPH possible leading to the potential for blizzard conditions. Somewhat lesser amounts are possible over Nantucket and possibly Marthas Vineyard depending on the mix and changeover to rain and when it changes back to snow in those locations. On Cape Cod and Block Island RI, a changeover to rain may occur but will flip back to snow and accumulate rapidly with very strong winds leading to the potential for blizzard conditions. The Winter Storm and High Wind Watches have been cancelled as the Blizzard Watch covers both of these threats..
..A Blizzard Watch is now in effect from Friday Morning through Saturday Afternoon for Northern Connecticut for 18 to 24 Inches of snow and sustained winds of 15-25 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH possible leading to the potential for Blizzard Conditions. In this area, the potential for stronger winds warranted an upgrade to a Blizzard Watch and therefore the Winter Storm Watch has been cancelled and upgraded to this Blizzard Watch..
..A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for Franklin, Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts, Northern Connecticut and Southern New Hampshire from Friday Morning through Saturday Afternoon for 18 to 24 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts and the potential for near blizzard conditions..
..A Coastal Flood Watch is now in effect from Friday Evening through Saturday Afternoon for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties from Friday Evening through Saturday Afternoon. The potential exists for a moderate coastal flood event for the Friday Evening high tide and a moderate to major coastal flood event for the Saturday Morning high tide for East Coastal Massachusetts..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are likely starting Friday Morning lasting through late Saturday Afternoon with overnight operations Friday Night likely..
..ARES/RACES/EMCOMM Groups across the region are asked to monitor this potential major nor’easter/blizzard closely and seek advice from local leadership..
..Pictures from this major storm event will likely be helpful for situational awareness and disaster intelligence purposes. They can be sent as a reply to this message or to the email address pics@nsradio.org with credit given to the spotter or Ham Operator for sending the pictures unless otherwise noted..
A potentially major nor’easter, blizzard is likely for Southern New England. This system may reach a historic status in its impacts across the region. Preparations for this major system should be completed by Friday Morning at the latest.
The most significant update in this coordination message is the potential for colder temperatures in Southeast New England which could potentially minimize the time of any mixed precipitation or changeover to rain. This will lead to higher snowfall amounts in this region and overlap with the period of very strong winds. This has necessitated an upgrade to Blizzard Watches for Southeast New England. Since the Blizzard Watch covers both the strong to damaging wind and heavy snowfall threats, the Winter Storm and High Wind Watches for these areas have been cancelled. Across Northern Connecticut, winds strong enough to potentially hit blizzard criteria are possible so Winter Storm Watches have been upgraded to Blizzard Watches for this area as well.
Meantime, the headlines of Blizzard, Winter Storm, High Wind, and Coastal Flood Watches with snowfall amounts and potential impacts capture this storm’s potential. Below are some details that still are not yet known with this major storm system:
1.) Small deviations in storm track will affect where the coastal front sets up that will separate all snow areas from a snow to mixed precipitation/rain back over to snow situation. This could affect snowfall amounts particularly over Southeast New England and that is why Blizzard Watches have been expanded to this region as a track just southeast of the 40 North/70 West benchmark is likely.
2.) Potential impacts will vary based on the speed of the system. Models are beginning to show this powerful storm may slow down over the region extending the impacts further into the day on Saturday. This may result in higher snowfall amounts and greater impacts from coastal flooding over more than 1 tide cycle as well as a stronger period of strong to damaging winds over the region.
3.) The consistency of the snow, i.e.: heavier wet snow versus a drier snow coupled with the strong to damaging winds could determine the extent of any tree and wire damage and potential power outages. Its not clear at this stage where the higher impact areas will be for any tree and wire damage areas.
People should prepare for this major storm similar to other past major winter storms for the region. Have plenty of batteries and battery powered equipment on hand and test out this equipment and any generator equipment. Make sure you have gas for your generator as well. If it turns out that you do not lose power in the storm, you will be better prepared for the next storm system.
Pictures from this major storm event will likely be helpful for situational awareness and disaster intelligence purposes. They can be sent as a reply to this message or to the email address pics@nsradio.org with credit given to the spotter or Ham Operator for sending the pictures unless otherwise noted.
SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton are likely starting Friday Morning lasting through late Saturday Afternoon with overnight operations Friday Night likely. ARES/RACES/EMCOMM Groups across the region are asked to monitor this potential major nor’easter/blizzard closely and seek advice from local leadership. The next coordination message will be issued by 1130 PM Thursday Evening. Below is the NWS Taunton Blizzard/Winter Storm Watch Statement, Coastal Flood Watch Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snowfall Accumulation Prediction Map:
NWS Taunton Blizzard/Winter Storm Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html
NWS Taunton Coastal Flood Watch Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.whus41.KBOX.html
NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html
NWS Taunton Snowfall Accumulation Prediction 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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