Storm Coordination Message #1 – Saturday Evening 12/31/16-Sunday Morning 1/1/17 Light Snow/Strong Wind Potential

Hello to all…

..Happy New Year to all SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators..
..A light snow event is expected overnight in portions of interior Southern New England. With this being a busy travel time for New Year’s Eve, this short coordination message is being sent to raise awareness. A coating to 2″ of snow with isolated higher amounts to 3″ are possible across Western and Central Massachusetts. Other areas are likely to see an inch or less of snow where the precipitation is snow away from the coastal areas..
..A period of strong winds with wind gusts to around 40 MPH are possible at the coast overnight as well..
..Another storm system may bring a period of light icing followed by rain and strong winds Monday Night into Tuesday. Coordination Messages will be sent out on that system Sunday Night or Monday Morning as needed..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor for any snowfall totals, precip type change over and wind reports overnight and Sunday Morning. This will be the only coordination message on this situation unless a significant upgrade to the situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Special Weather Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics..

NWS Taunton Special Weather Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus81.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
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Storm Coordination Message #4 – Thursday 12/29/16-Friday Morning 12/30/16 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Nor’easter will bring significant snowfall to interior Southern New England with the possibility of the snow being heavy and wet and clinging to tree and power lines along with strong wind gusts leading to the potential of isolated to scattered tree and power line damage and isolated power outages in this area. As the nor’easter rapidly intensifies, strong to damaging winds are likely in Eastern New England particularly at the coast later Thursday Evening into Friday with isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages possible in those areas as well..
..A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts from 9 AM Thursday to 4 AM Friday for 5-10″ of snow with isolated higher amounts to 12″ possible. The heaviest snow accumulations will be in the higher terrain around and above 1000 feet. Elevations below 1000 feet will see lesser snow amounts in the low end of the range or possibly in the 3-5″ range depending on how much rain if any mixes in with the snow. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts of 40-50 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..The Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for Eastern Hampden and Southern Worcester counties of Massachusetts from 9 AM Thursday Morning to 4 AM Friday Morning for 2-5″ of snow and wind gusts of 40-50 MPH. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts of 40-50 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages. This area continues to have the highest level of uncertainty on the snow amounts and how much rain occurs etc. but this reflects the current thinking..
..The Winter Weather Advisory for Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut and Central Middlesex and Western Essex counties of Massachusetts has been cancelled. Snow amounts in this area will range from 1-3″ with much more rain expected in these areas based on the storm track. Parts of extreme Northwest Hartford County CT in the Hartland/Granby CT area could see some isolated amounts of 4″ of snow. This area also continues to have the highest level of uncertainty on the snow amounts and how much rain occurs etc. but this reflects the current thinking..
..A Wind Advisory is now in effect for all of Central and Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island for sustained winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts of 50-55 MPH likely. The area that was under the High Wind Watch from Eastern Plymouth County through Northeast Massachusetts is the area where the highest winds could occur and a short-fused upgrade to a High Wind Warning is possible in that area if even stronger wind gusts become likely..
..Other areas outside of the Winter Storm Watch area away from the coast could see some snow accumulation but this is currently expected to be below advisory levels if there is any significant accumulation at all. This will depend on the track, speed and intensity of the storm and its ability to draw cold air into the region and the current track is slightly closer to the coast with more warm air over the area which has resulted in reduced snowfall amounts..
..It is noted that the IRLP link to the Route 2 corridor system in Northern Worcester County is not working. Amateur Radio Operators in Northern Worcester County are encouraged to provide reports on the 146.97-Paxton Repeater, 146.480-Worcester Repeater and the 448.625-Mount Wachusett Repeater which is a new repeater that is now up and running and functional (PL: Tone: 88.5 Hz with a minus offset). WX1BOX will also attempt to go on the Gardner Repeater directly but this may be difficult due to distance from the NWS office and storm conditions. Other Amateur Radio call-up nets are likely either late this morning or early this afternoon particularly in the Winter Storm Warning area on typical SKYWARN frequencies with some nets being brought up as winds increase in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island as required tonight..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence between 10 AM and Noon Thursday likely lasting through 3 or 4 AM Friday Morning..

A nor’easter is expected to significantly effect Southern New England Thursday Morning through Thursday Evening and the overnight hours into early Friday Morning. The headlines depict the latest thinking which includes some reduction in snowfall amounts particularly in the lower elevations of the Winter Storm Warning area and the dropping of Winter Weather Advisories in Middlesex and Western Essex County Massachusetts and North-Central Connecticut. This is due to models insisting on somewhat warmer air in these areas and a slightly closer storm track. Strong to damaging winds are also a concern and the High Wind Watch has been converted to a Wind Advisory for all of Central and Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. There is still the potential for high wind warning criteria wind gusts in parts of Northeast Massachusetts that could result in a short fused issuance of a High Wind Warning for some portion of Northeast Massachusetts. Key factors for this storm and eventual snow amounts and areas impacted most significantly and wind intensity near and around the coast still include the following:

1.) Where the intensification occurs and how rapid. This is currently forecast to be close enough to Southern New England where the impacts as stated in the headlines are likely. This intensification is also likely to control how quickly cold air works into the region and determine how quickly areas that have rain changeover to snow as the storm system draws colder air from the northwest into the region.
2.) The eventual track of the storm and how close to Southern New England it gets. A closer track means less snow and more rain in eastern areas and the potential for a dry slot to work into western areas that would remain snow or possibly a mix of snow and sleet towards North-Central Connecticut. A track further offshore could bring heavier snow a bit further east but still away from the coast due to warm water temperatures.
3.) How much cooling occurs and if temperatures hover around freezing. This will determine the consistency of the snow, how wet it is and the potential damage from heavy wet snow accumulation.
4.) The intensification process and how rapid it is will also control the potential for strong to damaging winds along East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the Islands and areas of interior Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At this time, the potential is there for wind gusts of 50-55 MPH with isolated higher gusts.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence between 10 AM and Noon Thursday likely lasting through 3 or 4 AM Friday Morning. This will be the last coordination message as we move into Amateur Radio Operations mode. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, Wind Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics:

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

NWS Taunton 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 Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #3 – Thursday 12/29/16-Friday Morning 12/30/16 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Nor’easter will bring significant snowfall to interior Southern New England with the possibility of the snow being heavy and wet and clinging to tree and power lines along with strong wind gusts leading to the potential of isolated to scattered tree and power line damage and isolated power outages in this area. As the nor’easter rapidly intensifies, strong to damaging winds are also possible in Eastern New England particularly at the coast later Thursday Evening into Friday with isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages possible in those areas as well..
..A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts from 9 AM Thursday to 4 AM Friday for 6-12″ of snow with isolated higher amounts possible. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts of 40-50 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect for Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut and Eastern Hampden, Southern Worcester, Central Middlesex and Western Essex counties of Massachusetts from 9 AM Thursday Morning to 4 AM Friday Morning for 2-5″ of snow and wind gusts of 40-50 MPH. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts of 40-50 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages. This area continues to have the highest level of uncertainty on the snow amounts and how much rain occurs etc. but this reflects the current thinking..
..A High Wind Watch is now in effect from Thursday Evening through late Thursday Night for Essex, Central and Southeast Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Eastern Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for sustained winds of 20-30 MPH with wind gusts to 50-60 MPH with isolated higher wind gusts possible. Other areas around the High Wind Watch could also experience strong winds and are covered under the Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory products where issued and a Wind Advisory may be needed for areas of Southeast New England..
..Areas outside of the Winter Storm Watch area away from the coast could see some snow accumulation but this is currently expected to be below advisory levels if there is any significant accumulation at all. This will depend on the track, speed and intensity of the storm and its ability to draw cold air into the region..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence between 10 AM and Noon Thursday likely lasting through 3 or 4 AM Friday Morning..

A nor’easter is expected to significantly effect Southern New England Thursday Morning through Thursday Evening and the overnight hours into early Friday Morning. The headlines depict the latest thinking with portions of Northern and Western Massachusetts with Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories replacing the Winter Storm Watch area. Strong to damaging winds are also a concern, particularly in Northeast Massachusetts where a High Wind Watch is now posted for Thursday Evening into the overnight hours though strong winds to Wind Advisory level could be seen across much of Southern New England as the coordination message headlines indicate. Key factors for this storm and eventual snow amounts and areas impacted most significantly and wind intensity near and around the coast, include the following:

1.) Where the intensification occurs and how rapid. This is currently forecast to be close enough to Southern New England where the impacts as stated in the headlines are likely. This intensification is also likely to control how quickly cold air works into the region and determine how quickly areas that have rain changeover to snow as the storm system draws colder air from the northwest into the region.
2.) The eventual track of the storm and how close to Southern New England it gets. A closer track means less snow and more rain in eastern areas and the potential for a dry slot to work into western areas that would remain snow or possibly a mix of snow and sleet towards North-Central Connecticut. A track further offshore could bring heavier snow a bit further east but still away from the coast due to warm water temperatures.
3.) How much cooling occurs and if temperatures hover around freezing. This will determine the consistency of the snow, how wet it is and the potential damage from heavy wet snow accumulation.
4.) The intensification process and how rapid it is will also control the potential for strong to damaging winds along East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the Islands and areas of interior Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At this time, the potential is there for wind gusts of 40-60 MPH with isolated higher gusts.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton will commence between 10 AM and Noon Thursday likely lasting through 3 or 4 AM Friday Morning. Another coordination message will be posted by 1000 AM Thursday Morning. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, High Wind Watch Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics:

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

NWS Taunton High Wind Watch 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 Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #2 – Thursday 12/29/16-Friday Morning 12/30/16 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Nor’easter will bring significant snowfall to interior Southern New England with the possibility of the snow being heavy and wet and clinging to tree and power lines with isolated to scattered tree and power line damage and isolated power outages possible in this area. As the nor’easter rapidly intensifies, strong to damaging winds are possible in Eastern New England particularly at the coast later Thursday Evening into Friday with isolated pocket of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages possible in those areas..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts from 9 AM Thursday to 10 AM Friday for 8-12″ of snow with isolated higher amounts possible. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts to around 40-45 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for Eastern Hampden, Southern Worcester, Central Middlesex and has been expanded to Western Essex counties of Massachusetts from Thursday Morning to Friday Morning for 4-8″ of snow with isolated higher amounts possible. The snow will be heavy and wet and coupled with wind gusts to around 40-45 MPH could result in isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages. There remains some uncertainty on the snow amounts and how much rain occurs so the Winter Storm Watch has not been converted to a warning or advisory as yet..
..A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut for 2-4″ of snow and sleet. This area has the most uncertainty in terms of mixed precipitation and if the heaviest precipitation occurs in this area or is northeast of this area..
..Areas outside of the Winter Storm Watch area away from the coast could see some snow accumulation. This will depend on the track, speed and intensity of the storm and its ability to draw cold air into the region. At the coast, given warm water temperatures, precipitation is likely to be mostly rain perhaps changing to a short period of snow before ending..
..Wind Advisories will likely be needed for East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island and possibly extending into some areas of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island for strong winds later Thursday Night into Friday..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is likely on Thursday. Exact timeframe of activation and whether it extends into a portion of the overnight hours Thursday Night will depend on the timing and eventual intensity of the storm as it passes through Southern New England..

A nor’easter is expected to significantly effect Southern New England Thursday Morning through Thursday Evening. The headlines depict the latest thinking with portions of Northern and Western Massachusetts upgraded to Winter Storm Warnings and an expansion of the Winter Storm Watch into Western Essex county Massachusetts. Key factors for this storm and eventual snow amounts and areas impacted most significantly and wind intensity near and around the coast, include the following:

1.) Where the intensification occurs and how rapid. This is currently forecast to be close enough to Southern New England where the impacts as stated in the headlines are likely. This intensification is also likely to control how quickly cold air works into the region and determine how quickly areas that have rain changeover to snow as the storm system draws colder air from the northwest into the region.
2.) The eventual track of the storm and how close to Southern New England it gets. A closer track means less snow and more rain in eastern areas and the potential for a dry slot to work into western areas that would remain snow or possibly a mix of snow and sleet towards North-Central Connecticut. A track further offshore could bring heavier snow a bit further east but still away from the coast due to warm water temperatures.
3.) How much cooling occurs and if temperatures hover around freezing. This will determine the consistency of the snow, how wet it is and the potential damage from heavy wet snow accumulation.
4.) The intensification process and how rapid it is will also control the potential for strong to damaging winds along East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the Islands and areas of interior Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At this time, the potential is there for wind gusts of 40-50 MPH with isolated higher gusts.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is likely on Thursday. Exact timeframe of activation and whether it extends into a portion of the overnight hours Thursday Night will depend on the timing and eventual intensity of the storm as it passes through Southern New England. Another coordination message will be posted by 1130 PM Wednesday Evening. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Watch Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics:

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

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

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Thursday 12/29/16-Friday Morning 12/30/16 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Nor’easter will bring significant snowfall to interior Southern New England with the possibility of the snow being heavy and wet and clinging to tree and power lines with isolated to scattered tree and power line damage and isolated power outages possible in this area. As the nor’easter rapidly intensifies, strong to damaging winds are possible in Eastern New England particularly at the coast later Thursday Evening into Friday with isolated pocket of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages possible in those areas..
..A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Thursday Morning through Friday Morning for Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut and Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, and Northern and Central Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts. Initial snowfall amounts expected in this portion of the Watch area is 4-8″ of snow with the highest amounts in the range and isolated higher amounts beyond the range up to 10″ near the New Hampshire border and the lower amounts in Northwest Connecticut depending on amount of mixed precipitation. Snowfall amount forecasts could vary as it will depend on the amount of mixed precipitation and duration and intensity of precipitation as well as the track and intensity of the storm as it rapidly intensifies near our region..
..Areas outside of the Winter Storm Watch area away from the coast could see some snow accumulation. This will depend on the track, speed and intensity of the storm and its ability to draw cold air into the region. At the coast, given warm water temperatures, precipitation is likely to be mostly rain perhaps changing to a short period of snow before ending..
..SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is likely on Thursday. Exact timeframe of activation and whether it extends into a portion of the overnight hours Thursday Night will depend on the timing and eventual intensity of the storm as it passes through Southern New England..

A nor’easter is expected to significantly effect Southern New England Thursday Morning through Thursday Evening. The headlines depict the latest thinking. Key factors for this storm and eventual snow amounts and areas impacted most significantly and wind intensity near and around the coast, include the following:

1.) Where the intensification occurs and how rapid. This is currently forecast to be close enough to Southern New England where the impacts as stated in the headlines are likely. This intensification is also likely to control how quickly cold air works into the region and determine how quickly areas that have rain changeover to snow as the storm system draws colder air from the northwest into the region.
2.) The eventual track of the storm and how close to Southern New England it gets. A closer track means less snow and more rain in eastern areas and the potential for a dry slot to work into western areas that would remain snow or possibly a mix of snow and sleet towards North-Central Connecticut. A track further offshore could bring heavier snow a bit further east but still away from the coast due to warm water temperatures.
3.) How much cooling occurs and if temperatures hover around freezing. This will determine the consistency of the snow, how wet it is and the potential damage from heavy wet snow accumulation.
4.) The intensification process and how rapid it is will also control the potential for strong to damaging winds along East and South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the Islands and areas of interior Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. At this time, the potential is there for wind gusts of 40-50 MPH with isolated higher gusts.

SKYWARN Activation with Ops at NWS Taunton is likely on Thursday. Exact timeframe of activation and whether it extends into a portion of the overnight hours Thursday Night will depend on the timing and eventual intensity of the storm as it passes through Southern New England. Another coordination message will be posted by 9 AM Wednesday Morning. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Watch Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics:

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

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

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #2 – Monday PM 12/26/16-Tuesday AM 12/27/16 Light Icing in Interior & Strong Wind Potential in Southeast New England

Hello to all…

..Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators..
..A storm system Monday Afternoon through Tuesday Morning will bring light icing conditions with the possibility of slippery travel in parts of interior Massachusetts and may eventually extend into Northwest Connecticut and strong to damaging winds in interior and Coastal Southeast New England late Monday Night through Tuesday Morning. The strong wind potential could expand to other areas depending on how much of the area gets into the warmer air..
..A Freezing Rain Advisory remains in effect from 3-11 PM Monday for Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts and is expanded into Hartford County Connecticut for a light icing that could impact travel..
..A Wind Advisory is now in effect for Bristol and Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts, Bristol, Newport and Washington Counties of Rhode Island and all of Cape Cod and the Islands from Midnight to 10 AM Tuesday for sustained winds of 15 to 25 MPH with gusts up to and around 50 MPH likely. This may cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages..
..There is potential for a possible nor’easter Thursday into Friday Morning. It is too early to get into any specific details on this potential and any coordination messages on this storm system won’t be posted until either Tuesday Evening or Wednesday Morning..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the progress of this storm system Monday Afternoon through Tuesday Morning. This will likely be the last coordination message on this storm system unless a significant upgrade to the situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory statement, Wind Advisory Statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics where Icing maps have been updated..

NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton 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 Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Monday Afternoon 12/26/16-Tuesday Morning 12/27/16 Light Icing in Interior and Strong Wind Potential in Southeast Coastal New England

Hello to all…

..Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Holiday season to all SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators..
..A storm system Monday Afternoon through Tuesday Morning will bring light icing conditions with the possibility of slippery travel in parts of interior Massachusetts and may eventually extend into Northwest Connecticut and also the potential for strong to damaging winds in Southeast Coastal New England late Monday Night through Tuesday Morning depending on how warm temperatures get and the ability for any convective showers and downpours to drag wind down to the surface..
..A Freezing Rain Advisory is now in effect from 3-11 PM Monday for Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts for a light icing that could impact travel. This advisory could be extended slightly further south and east in future forecasts..
..Strong winds across the Southeast Coastal New England area will need to be monitored for possible Wind Advisories in future outlooks..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the progress of this storm system Monday Afternoon through Tuesday Morning. Another coordination message will be posted by 11 AM Monday Morning. Below is the NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics where Icing maps have been updated..

NWS Taunton Freezing Rain Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Special Announcement: Merry Christmas/Happy New Year/Happy Holidays to All SKYWARN Spotters & Amateur Radio Operators!

Hello to all..

On behalf of the entire Amateur Radio Group at WX1BOX, the Amateur Radio station for NWS Taunton Massachusetts, and the forecaster staff at NWS Taunton, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holiday season. 2016 was another interesting year for weather across the region though possibly one of the biggest highlights of this year may not have had to do with a particular storm or severe weather event but the severe drought conditions that affected much of Southern New England this year resulting in water restrictions and water conservation efforts across much of the NWS Taunton coverage area. While we have had the severe drought conditions, there were also notable weather events across the NWS Taunton coverage area during this past year.

As has been the case for the last several years, many of you provided critical reports, pictures and videos that supported and resulted in the protection of life and property and timely warnings being issued based on the surface reporting and ground truth that is so critical in confirming what the radar is or is not seeing. This information was then shared with the media, local, state and federal emergency management and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are always looking for situational awareness and disaster intelligence to gauge the level of response and recovery required for an incident. They remain extremely impressed with all the work that all of you do and they extend their appreciation. That appreciation of the weather and damage reports is highly recognized by many of the media outlets as well who thank SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators on television and over social media such as Facebook and Twitter. This mission could not be done without all of your support.

A quick synopsis of 2016 beyond the severe drought conditions that were noted is that there were several notable weather events over the past year despite the much below normal precipitation of the past year. Despite a relatively light snowfall season over the region, South Coastal Massachusetts and the Cape and Islands experienced two blizzards (Saturday January 23rd into Sunday Morning January 24th) and Monday February 8th. Each storm had wind gusts in the 65-75 MPH range along the Cape and Islands with pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages and 6-12″ of snow with isolated higher amounts. A sharp cutoff in the snowfall was noted north and west of these areas with much less snowfall. During the February 8th blizzard, the stronger winds were felt inland for a time as the storm had a very large envelope despite its well offshore track. In between these blizzards on Friday February 5th, a wet snow storm would impact much of Southern New England with widespread snowfall amounts of 6-12″ and tree and power line damage from the weight wet of the wet snow. There were two fatalities from this storm and over 100,000 people without power from this storm event. Later in the winter, a couple late winter/early spring snow events affected the region on Sunday April 3rd, where 3-6″ of snow occurred in portions of the area away from the immediate coast and strong to damaging winds caused tree and power line damage between the winds and the wet snow accumulation. There were 2 fatalities in that storm incident when a tree fell down on a moving vehicle. on Monday April 4th, a second late season snowstorm brought 4-8″ of snow in a narrow band of interior Southeast Massachusetts and South-Central Rhode Island near the rain-snow line. Some communities reported a wide range of snowfall within their same town due to the location of the rain-snow line and the depth of Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotters showed the difference in these communities and how the snowfall amounts varied within in certain communities.

The Spring and early summer of 2016 was relatively quiet with some smaller SKYWARN Activations and Self-Activations before we got later into the summer season of severe weather in mid-July with several SKYWARN Activations over the week of July 18th resulting in Ops at the NWS Taunton Forecast Office. Numerous reports of wind damage and large hail were received during SKYWARN Activations on Monday July 18th, Friday July 22nd and Saturday July 23rd. During the SKYWARN Activations of July 22nd and July 23rd, a problem with the Doppler Radar made strong to severe thunderstorms stronger than they appeared and made spotter reports during those events critical to determine the real strength of the strong to severe thunderstorms. Another active period of severe weather was the Friday August 13th-Sunday August 15th timeframe with several severe weather events during that period including 3 separate rounds of severe weather on Saturday August 14th extending into the early morning hours of Sunday August 15th with severe weather occurring out until 4 AM on that Sunday.

During the early Monday Morning hours of August 22nd as a cold front moved through the region, the environment was favorable for isolated severe thunderstorms and the possibility of an isolated tornado despite the unfavorable time of day for such a scenario as a cold front moved through the region. The potential would be realized as a severe thunderstorm took shape in Eastern Worcester county extending into Central Middlesex County Massachusetts. This would lead to a severe thunderstorm warning and later a tornado warning for central Middlesex County. Near real time reports of isolated wind damage in Marlborough and Sudbury turned into an area of concentrated tree and power line damage over Concord, Massachusetts. It was in Concord Massachusetts where an EF-1 Tornado was confirmed there with near real-time reports of tree and power line damage and roads blocked from fallen trees and wires came in from SKYWARN Spotters, Amateur Radio Operators and Concord police and fire departments. The near real-time reporting gave NWS Taunton an area of focus for a storm survey and resulted in a rapid confirmation of an EF-1 Tornado touchdown in Concord, Massachusetts.

On Labor Day, Post Tropical Cyclone Hermine would bring nor’easter like conditions to Southeast New England with wind gusts of 40-50 MPH with higher gusts of 50-60 MPH over the islands and portions of southern Cape Cod. This resulted in isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages with Tropical Storm Warnings for the Southeast New England coast. Other parts of Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Northeast Connecticut would experience wind gusts of 30-40 MPH and with trees weakened by drought conditions also resulted in isolated pockets of wind damage in these areas but to a lesser extend than areas of Southeast New England. On Sunday September 11th, a short fused severe weather situation occurred that Sunday Morning as a squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms caused pockets of wind damage and hail across much of interior western, central and northeastern Massachusetts and Northwest and North-Central Connecticut.

The Fall edition of the Prevailing Winds SKYWARN Newsletter had a summary of the summer to early Fall severe weather season. A link to the newsletter can be seen at the following link:

http://beta.wx1box.org/local/Iss6vol2_2016_10_prevailing_winds.pdf

In October, Hurricane Matthew tracked south of Southern New England but briefly brought concerns to our area as initial long range model guidance had a track near Southern New England but that did not materialize. Moisture from Hurricane Matthew would be brought into the region via cold front bringing beneficial rainfall to Southern New England. It also brought strong to damaging winds with wind gusts in the 50 to 65 MPH range over Southeast New England causing isolated pockets of tree and wire damage on Sunday October 9th particularly over Cape Cod and the islands but also in other parts of Southeast Coastal New England.

A strong cold front after very mild conditions brought a significant flash flood event across Central and Northeast Massachusetts and Northeast Connecticut and Northern Rhode Island on Friday October 21st. This event was associated with strong thunderstorms that trained over the same area. This led to one of the worst flash flood events in recent memory in the city of Worcester with multiple Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotter and non-Amateur Radio SKYWARN spotter reports of measured rainfall between 4 and 5.2″ of rain in just 90 minutes. This led to significant flash flooding of urban areas in Worcester prompting activation of the Worcester EOC for several hours during the flash flood event. Many reports from SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators told of significant urban flooding up to car roof tops and cars floating on various roadways in Worcester. Other hard hit areas was in Shrewsbury and the Leominster to Fitchburg and Lunenburg area into Central Middlesex and Essex Counties of Massachusetts and parts of the Metro Boston area. The flash flooding occurred at night which made the flash flood event more dangerous motorists. The near real-time reporting during this event was very critical to the warning process. Later Saturday Evening into Sunday behind the storm, strong to damaging winds caused isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages in the region. On Thursday Evening October 27th, the first snow storm would blanket parts of Western Massachusetts in the higher elevation and hill towns with 3-6″ of wet snow and with trees still having leaves on them, tree and power line damage would occur with over 7000 customers without power at the height of the storm. The month of October was one of the few above normal precipitation months of 2016. In December, we’ve had one activation with Ops at NWS Taunton for strong to damaging winds that reached High Wind Warning criteria in portions of the NWS Taunton coverage area on Thursday December 15th and the first widespread SKYWARN Self-Activation for snowfall reports on Saturday December 17th as we begin the 2017 winter weather season.

As we move forward in 2017, we will be continuing our commitment to SKYWARN training. Planning has already started with five training class booked and several other classes in planning. The latest 2017 SKYWARN Training Schedule can be seen at the following link:
http://beta.wx1box.org/node/36

We also know that we’ve continued to have a large influx of SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators after a full slate of SKYWARN Training classes. As we move forward into 2017, we will continue documenting ways to communicate with us during activation and assure people understand the self-activation and activation protocols used today. We will also look at ways spotters and Amateurs can become more active in supporting efforts to gather critical reports from other areas beyond where they are located and do so in a precise manner.

We will also continue to embrace new technologies while maintaining all the other technologies utilized to gather as much real-time and precise meteorological and damage report information as possible. We utilized DMR during the 2016 SKYWARN Recognition Day event and will be looking to add that capability when possible during activations.  We will attempt to look at DDSTAR Amateur Radio as an additional means for reporting during severe weather and we are still looking at a new Amateur Radio technology called NBEMS, the Narrow Band Emergency Messaging System, as a potential means to gather weather spotter data digitally over Ham Radio. These are added capabilities that we will be looking at and will not replace the continued core technologies within VHF and UHF (2 Meters/440 MHz) SKYWARN Amateur Radio Repeaters and simplex capabilities, our usage of Echolink/IRLP Amateur Radio linked repeaters, Amateur Radio HF and 6 Meters capabilities as well as monitoring of weather stations ingested over APRS and into the Mesonet networks that have supported and helped with seeing what is happening on the ground.

We will also be looking at other ways to engage both Amateur Radio and non-Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters via other ways to get near real-time and historical spotter reports and near real-time video and pictures as well as historical video and pictures after a major severe weather event via a project the WX1BOX Amateur Radio team is working over the past 4 month period. Further details on this will be announced as the project progresses. This will further enhance our abilities to gather situational awareness and disaster intelligence information in a short period of time.

We continue to have our twitter feed setup and you can follow WX1BOX on Twitter by following our Amateur Radio Call-Sign, WX1BOX and have our WX1BOX Facebook page available as well. NWS Taunton has also continued the use of their Twitter and Facebook feeds as well over the course of 2016. SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators can follow WX1BOX and ‘NWSBoston’ on twitter and on facebook can ‘like’ these pages. They are available via the following links:

WX1BOX Amateur Radio SKYWARN Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/wx1box

NWS Taunton Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/US.NationalWeatherService.Boston.gov?fref=ts

WX1BOX Amateur Radio SKYWARN Twitter Feed:
http://twitter.com/wx1box

NWS Taunton Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/NWSBoston

We, again, want to provide a tremendous THANK YOU to all of you that supported SKYWARN and the National Weather Service during 2016. We wish everyone once again, a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holiday Season and hope people enjoy their time with family and friends during this joyous holiday season!

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Saturday 12/24/16 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators..
..A storm system on Christmas Eve will bring a mix of precipitation Saturday Morning into the early afternoon in northern and western parts of the coverage area with mostly rain in southern and eastern parts of the coverage area with some strong wind gusts just below wind advisory criteria along coastal Southern New England..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 5 AM to 2 PM Saturday for Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut and Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden and Northern Worcester Counties of Massachusetts for 1-3″ of snow in the higher elevations of the advisory area from around 1000 feet or higher and a coating to 1″ of snow in lower elevations with a trace of icing from freezing rain across all elevations of the advisory area..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor conditions Saturday Morning into early afternoon across the Winter Weather Advisory area and along the coast for any strong wind gusts. This will be the only coordination message on this storm event unless a significant upgrade to the situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Weather Advisory statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Winter Weather Graphics..

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

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

NWS Taunton Winter Weather Graphics:
http://www.weather.gov/box/winter

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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Storm Coordination Message #1 – Sunday 12/18/16 Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..After the winter storm that brought snow and ice to the region Saturday, a warmer storm system and cold front will sweep through Southern New England bringing strong winds over Southeast New England and a period of heavy rainfall. Dense fog conditions also occurring this morning in areas that have had snowfall and a snowpack from yesterday. A flash freeze is expected as the cold front sweeps through late this afternoon and could freeze standing water on area roadways causing black ice conditions..
..A Wind Advisory is in effect until 4 PM Sunday for Cape Cod and the Islands for sustained winds of 25-35 MPH with gusts of 45-50 MPH likely. Winds close to or at wind advisory thresholds are also possible in other parts of South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island particularly in areas where there is no longer a snow pack..
..A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for Western, Central and Northern Massachusetts and Hartford and Tolland Counties of Connecticut through 10 AM. Watch for reduced visibility through this morning until the rain arrives later this morning..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor the strong winds, heavy rainfall and flash freeze conditions for today. This will be the only coordination on this storm system unless a significant update to the situation occurs and time allows for an update. Below is the NWS Taunton Dense Fog and Wind Advisory statement, Special Weather statement for the flash freeze expected later today and the Hazardous Weather Outlook. Also provided is the Public Information Statement on snowfall from the Saturday storm..

NWS Taunton Wind and Dense Fog Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus71.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Special Weather Statement on Flash Freeze Conditions:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus81.KBOX.html

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

NWS Taunton Public Information Statement – Saturday 12/17/16 Snowfall Reports:
http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KBOX/1612180233.nous41.html

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Assistant 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
Like us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/wx1box
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/wx1box

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