Storm Coordination Message #3 – Saturday Afternoon 1/18/19-Sunday Morning 1/19/19 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..Moderate and Quick Hitting Snowstorm on track to affect Southern New England late Saturday Afternoon through early Sunday Morning..
..A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 2 PM Saturday to 7 AM Sunday for Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, Northern Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts for 4-8″ of snow and a light glaze of ice..
..A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 4 PM Saturday to 7 AM Sunday for Central Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 4-8″ of snow and a light glaze of ice..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 2 PM Saturday to 4 AM Sunday for Northern Connecticut, Eastern Hampden and Southern Worcester Counties of Massachusetts for 3-6″ of snow and a light glaze of ice..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 4 PM Saturday to 4 AM Sunday for Eastern Essex, Southeast Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, North-Central Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts and Providence and Kent Counties in Rhode Island for 2-4″ of snow..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 4 PM Saturday to 1 AM Sunday for South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island including Cape Cod for 2-4″ of snow. Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket will likely see a Coating to 1″ of snow before a changeover to rain..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets will occur Saturday Evening likely starting around 6 PM. Amateur Radio Operators who check into the Western Massachusetts ARES and Emergency Nets on Sunday Morning are asked to provide final snowfall measurements if not provided and totals aren’t final in any Amateur Radio SKYWARN Call-Up Nets completed by late Saturday Evening..

A moderate, quick hitting snowstorm will affect the region late Saturday Afternoon through early Sunday Morning. The headlines depict the current thinking. The biggest change is the addition of a Winter Weather Advisory for South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode island including Cape Cod. Key factors remain as follows:

1.) Precipitation will start from west to east with slightly later timing between 5 to 7 PM and taper off between 10 PM to 1 AM from west to east.
2.) If heavier snowfall rates of 1″ per hour last longer than expected in the warning areas, slightly higher snowfall amounts would occur. Conversely, if these snowfall rates don’t last as long as currently predicted, slightly lesser snowfall amounts could occur.
3.) In advisory areas, if 1″ per hour snowfall rates last longer than expected and/or any changeover in precipitation doesn’t occur during heaviest precipitation, slightly higher snowfall amounts could occur. If those snowfall rates don’t last as long expected or a changeover in precipitation occurs a bit earlier than expected, slightly less snowfall amounts would occur. Due to the initial cold air, the Winter Weather Advisory was expanded to South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island including Cape Cod.

SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets will occur Saturday Evening. Amateur Radio Operators who check into the Western Massachusetts ARES and Emergency Nets on Sunday Morning are asked to provide final snowfall measurements if not provided and totals aren’t final in any Amateur Radio SKYWARN Call-Up Nets completed by late Saturday Evening. This will be the last coordination message as we move into operations mode. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory statement, Hazardous Weather Outlook and Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Boston/Norton Winer Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement:
https://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.wwus41.KBOX.html

NWS Boston/Norton Hazardous Weather Outlook:
https://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.flus41.KBOX.html

NWS Boston/Norton Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:
https://www.weather.gov/box/ehwo

NWS Boston/Norton Snow and Ice Maps:
https://www.weather.gov/box/winter

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
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