Storm Coordination Message #2 – Friday Night 4/17/20-Saturday Morning 4/18/20 Winter Storm Potential

Hello to all…

..A mid-April light to moderate snowstorm for interior Southern New England is possible to likely Friday Night into Saturday Morning. Heaviest snow is expected in interior Southern New England and especially the higher terrain but model trends have turned a bit colder with some snow accumulation in interior Southeast New England now expected and the snow is expected to be heavy and wet and in areas where snow accumulates greater than 3″, isolated pockets of tree and power line damage and isolated power outages could develop..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect from 9 PM Friday Night through 12 PM Saturday for Western Franklin, Western Hampshire, Western Hampden and Worcester Counties of Massachusetts for 4-7″ of snow with isolated higher amounts especially in the higher elevations. The snow will be heavy and wet and will cause isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 11 PM Friday Night through 10 AM Saturday Morning for Northern Connecticut, Northwest Providence County RI, Eastern Franklin, Eastern Hampshire, Eastern Hampden, Essex, Suffolk, Middlesex, and Norfolk Counties of Massachusetts for 2-5″ of snow with isolated higher amounts in higher elevations. The snow will be heavy and wet with isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages in areas that receive more than 3″ of snow..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 1-10 AM Saturday for Southeast Providence County RI, North-Central Bristol and North-Central Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for 1-4″ of snow. If snowfall amounts of 3-4″ occur, there could be isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages in this area..
..Areas outside of the Winter Weather Advisory area along Southeast Coastal Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the Islands will receive a coating to 2″ of snow. It is noted some models bring some higher amounts in these areas and will be monitored but current projections are for 2″ or less of snow at this time..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation with Amateur Radio Call-Up Nets will monitor for snowfall total reports and wet snow damage reports Friday Night into Saturday Morning with primary emphasis on Amateur Radio call-up nets after 4-5 AM Saturday Morning though checks on area SKYWARN Amateur Radio repeaters, the *NEW-ENG3* Echolink conference 9123, IRLP 9123 New England reflector system and possibly DMR could occur any time during the Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory timeframes. Pictures of this storm can be sent as a reply to this email, via our Facebook/Twitter social media feeds or to the email address pics@nsradio.org..

A storm system will affect interior Southern New England with accumulating wet snow as rain changes over to snow during Friday Night and could come down heavily for a period of time during the overnight hours. The headlines depict current thinking. Key factors for this storm system are as follows:

1.) Models are varying in where the heaviest snow will fall but has trended colder in recent runs. The heaviest snow is favored for Western, Central and interior Northeast Massachusetts and parts of Northern Connecticut with lighter but accumulating snow in parts of Northern Rhode Island and interior Southeast Massachusetts. Coastal areas will get the least amount of snow but will need to be monitored during the storm event for higher accumulations as some models bring more than a coating to 2″ of snow to coastal areas.
2.) The snow will be heavy and wet which will cut down on the snowfall to liquid water ratios but it also means any snowfall of 3″ or more could cause isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated to scattered power outages and this potential will need to be monitored. This is especially true for the higher elevations of interior Southern New England where the higher snow amounts are likely of around 6-7″ with isolated higher amounts.
3.) The snow will fall mostly overnight into early Saturday Morning. Given the timeframe, its a favorable factor for snow accumulation and could impact some roadways.
4.) How much cold air is available for snow accumulation and when does the changeover from rain to snow occur. This will be a factor in total snowfall and the current trend has been for colder conditions which means a bit more snow accumulation.
5.) There is greater potential for there to be a few hour period of 1″ per hour snowfall based on the model guidance for interior Southern New England. Coastal New England could see a rain/snow mix changing to snow with a coating to 2″ of snow on the grass being the most likely outcome but trends again will be monitored for a snowier scenario given the colder trend in the models.

SKYWARN Self-Activation will monitor for snowfall total reports and wet snow damage reports Friday Night into Saturday Morning. This will likely be the last coordination message as we shift into operations mode but if a significant change occurs and time allows for an update, another update could be posted by 11 PM Friday Evening. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton Winter Storm Warning/Winter Weather Advisory Statement, NWS Boston/Norton Hazardous Weather Outlook, Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook and Snow and Ice Maps:

NWS Boston/Norton Winter 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
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