Hello to all..

..Heavy Rainfall in convective showers will affect Southern New England particularly portions of Central and Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Northeast Connecticut. Rainfall of 1-3″ will be possible. Doppler Radar shows the leading edge of heavy showers just offshore and will move on shore between 8 AM and Noon from south to north. The rainfall may cause some urban and poor drainage flooding over the area in locations that receive heaviest rainfall particularly this afternoon and the evening commute..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation will be utilized to handle any 2″ or more rainfall reports and flooding reports. Ops at NWS Taunton are unlikely but that will be monitored..
..This will be the only coordination message issued on this event unless an upgrade to the situation occurs. Below is the NWS Taunton Hazardous Weather Outlook..

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

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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Hello to all..

As part of our nation’s ongoing efforts to strengthen our resilience against all hazards, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in close coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), will conduct the first ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System on Wednesday, November 9, at 2:00 p.m. EST. The test will occur simultaneously across the United States and the U.S. territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will appear on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems. The test will not involve landline or mobile phones or other infrastructure such as power grids.

Further details on what will occur during this test is listed below in a press release by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

FEMA EAS Test Press Release:
http://www.fema.gov/eastest/

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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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SKYWARN TRAINING
Ipswich Mass – November 19, 2011

The National Weather Service (NWS) will be sponsoring a severe weather spotter training session, part of its SKYWARN program, in Ipswich Massachusetts. The class will be on Saturday November 19, 2011 from 11 AM to approximately 2 PM. It will be held at the Ipswich Town Hall, 25 Green Street, in Ipswich MA.

The session is open to the public at no charge. Amateur Radio Operators are encouraged to attend. Also, Emergency managers, police, fire, and other first responders are also encouraged to attend. Everyone age 16 and older who stays to complete the training will be able to become trained NWS weather spotters.

The training session includes a two-hour thirty-minute computer-based presentation, which discusses the development of thunderstorms, the criteria for “severe” thunderstorms, as well as the cloud features associated with severe thunderstorms and tornados. Additional information will be presented about winter storms and proper snow measurement. The session will also present the procedure for reporting weather information to the National Weather Service. Anyone attending should bring a pen or pencil and bringing a notebook is optional.

No pre-registration is required for this training session.

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Hello to all..

..Power continues to be restored across areas of New England hard hit by the historic and anomalous major nor’easter winter storm that severely impacted Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire and Connecticut..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and EMCOMM groups are beginning to stand down their monitoring of the situation as power returns to the region..
..A Federal disaster declaration has been given to Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire over the past 2 days. Links to the FEMA declaration news for these states are provided in this email..
..A web story on the Amateur Radio Response has been posted to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site and has been added to the links below. An updated story may follow early next week..
..NWS Taunton has posted a web page review of the October Major Winter Storm including pictures from the spotter community. That link has also been added to the resource links below..
..An additional link from NECN Broadcast Meteorologist, Matt Noyes, has been added to this message in an effort to promote preparedness and self-sufficiency for the next major storm to affect the region down the road understanding that improvements can still be made to the utility company response..
..Realizing that there are still folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated. State Emergency Management officials will be working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on damage assessment in many parts of New England starting on Monday and the pictures and data presented by SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators can help the damage assessment process..
..We extend a tremendous appreciation to all of our SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators that provided reports, pictures and video for this major storm and throughout the entire 2011 year which has been historic in terms of significant weather events affecting the region. This appreciation is detailed further in this coordination message..
..One more post storm coordination message which will likely be the final message may follow Sunday Evening or early this upcoming week. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts..
..The first two paragraphs of this message, the last paragraph updating the next post storm coordination message and the web links mentioned in the prior headlines are the updates. Remainder is unchanged..

The Major Nor’easter of October 29th-30th has caused major impact to the region. Power outages remain but they are gradually being reduced across the region. As of 5 PM this evening, there were approximately 69,000 without power in Massachusetts (approximately 37,000 with Western Mass Electric and 31,000 with National Grid) with 250,000 still without power in Connecticut and now only 3,000 without power in New Hampshire.

As stated in the headlines, realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated. State Emergency Management officials will be working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on damage assessment in many parts of New England starting on Monday and the pictures and data presented by SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators can help the damage assessment process.

On behalf of the entire SKYWARN coordinator team and the National Weather Service forecast staff, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to all the NWS Taunton area SKYWARN spotters and Amateur Radio Operators who provided us with valuable situational awareness data during this past October Nor’easter. There was not a moment during the 18 hour formal operations that we did not receive critical information from you folks. That information was of immeasurable value to all of our partners (i.e. the National Weather Service, the media, local, state and federal emergency management and all of our non-governmental organizations – Red Cross, Salvation Army, hospitals, Medical Reserve Corps, etc). This has been quite an active severe weather year, with the June 1st tornado outbreak, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, and now the October Nor’easter, not to mention the “normal” severe weather events we experienced. It is gratifying to see how well the training we go through pays off. We do not say Thank You enough to all of you for your support. We hear it from the NWS staff and the media all of the time, because we are right here with them, but that does not often get passed on to you folks – at least not often enough. THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

One more post storm coordination message which will likely be the final message may follow Sunday Evening or early this upcoming week. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts are listed below:

NWS Taunton Local Storm Report (Damage Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/lsr_10_30_11.txt

NWS Taunton Public Information Statement (Snowfall and Wind Gust Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/pns_10_30_11.txt

Connecticut Power and light (CL&P) Outage Map and Restoration Estimates Links:
http://outage.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx
http://www.cl-p.com/stormcenter/estimates/

Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) Power Outage Map:
http://www.psnh.com/PowerOutagesStorms/Home/Storm-Updates.aspx

Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) Outage Map:
http://www.wmeco.com/outage/

National Grid Outage Map:
http://http://www1.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/stormcenter/

CT-211 Web Site:
http://www.211ct.org/referweb/landing.aspx

ARRL Web Story – Amateurs Assist with Communications in Aftermath of Rare October Nor’easter:
http://www.arrl.org/news/amateurs-assist-with-communications-in-aftermath-of-rare-october-nor-easter

Matt Noyes: Can We Expect Long Power Outages Again?
http://www.mattnoyes.net/new_england_weather/2011/10/as-power-outages-continue-we-ask-should-such-long-outages-happen-and-can-we-expect-it-again.html

NWS Taunton October ‘Snowtober’ 2011 Review Link:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/sigevents/Snowtober_2011/

FEMA Disaster Declaration News for Massachusetts:
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=15992

FEMA Disaster Declaration News for Connecticut:
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=15972

FEMA Disaster Declaration News for New Hampshire:
http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=15993

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

Read more

Hello to all..

..Power continues to be restored across areas of New England hard hit by the historic and anomalous major nor’easter winter storm that severely impacted Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire and Connecticut..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and EMCOMM groups continue to monitor the situation closely in case support is needed..
..A Federal disaster declaration has been given to Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire over the past 2 days..
..A web story on the Amateur Radio Response has been posted to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) web site and has been added to the links below..
..An additional link from NECN Broadcast Meteorologist, Matt Noyes, has been added to this message in an effort to promote preparedness and self-sufficiency for the next major storm to affect the region down the road understanding that improvements can still be made to the utility company response..
..Realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated..
..We extend a tremendous appreciation to all of our SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators that provided reports, pictures and video for this major storm and throughout the entire 2011 year which has been historic in terms of significant weather events affecting the region. This appreciation is detailed further in this coordination message..
..Another post storm coordination message will follow either Friday or Saturday. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts..
..The first paragraph of this message and the two links mentioned in the prior headlines are the updates. Remainder is unchanged..

The Major Nor’easter of October 29th-30th has caused major impact to the region. Power outages remain widespread though are being reduced gradually across the region. As of late this evening, there were approximately 180,000 without power in Massachusetts with 494,000 without power in Connecticut and 47,000 without power in New Hampshire.

As stated in the headlines, realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated.

On behalf of the entire SKYWARN coordinator team and the National Weather Service forecast staff, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to all the NWS Taunton area SKYWARN spotters and Amateur Radio Operators who provided us with valuable situational awareness data during this past October Nor’easter. There was not a moment during the 18 hour formal operations that we did not receive critical information from you folks. That information was of immeasurable value to all of our partners (i.e. the National Weather Service, the media, local, state and federal emergency management and all of our non-governmental organizations – Red Cross, Salvation Army, hospitals, Medical Reserve Corps, etc). This has been quite an active severe weather year, with the June 1st tornado outbreak, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, and now the October Nor’easter, not to mention the “normal” severe weather events we experienced. It is gratifying to see how well the training we go through pays off. We do not say Thank You enough to all of you for your support. We hear it from the NWS staff and the media all of the time, because we are right here with them, but that does not often get passed on to you folks – at least not often enough. THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Another post storm coordination message will follow either Friday or Saturday. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts are listed below:

NWS Taunton Local Storm Report (Damage Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/lsr_10_30_11.txt

NWS Taunton Public Information Statement (Snowfall and Wind Gust Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/pns_10_30_11.txt

Connecticut Power and light (CL&P) Outage Map:
http://outage.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx

Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) Power Outage Map:
http://www.psnh.com/PowerOutagesStorms/Home/Storm-Updates.aspx

Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) Outage Map:
http://www.wmeco.com/outage/

National Grid Outage Map:
http://http://www1.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/stormcenter/

CT-211 Web Site:
http://www.211ct.org/referweb/landing.aspx

ARRL Web Story – Amateurs Assist with Communications in Aftermath of Rare October Nor’easter:
http://www.arrl.org/news/amateurs-assist-with-communications-in-aftermath-of-rare-october-nor-easter

Matt Noyes: Can We Expect Long Power Outages Again?
http://www.mattnoyes.net/new_england_weather/2011/10/as-power-outages-continue-we-ask-should-such-long-outages-happen-and-can-we-expect-it-again.html

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

Read more

Hello to all..

..Power slowly being restored across areas of New England hard hit by the historic and anomalous major nor’easter winter storm that severely impacted Western, Central and Northeast Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire and Connecticut..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and EMCOMM groups continue to monitor the situation closely in case support is needed..
..Federal disaster declarations are in the works for the hardest hit areas of the New England states..
..Realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated..
..We extend a tremendous appreciation to all of our SKYWARN Spotters and Amateur Radio Operators that provided reports, pictures and video for this major storm and throughout the entire 2011 year which has been historic in terms of significant weather events affecting the region. This appreciation is detailed further in this coordination message..
..Another post storm coordination message will follow late Wednesday Evening or Thursday Morning. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts..

The Major Nor’easter of October 29th-30th has caused major impact to the region. Power outages remain widespread though are being reduced gradually across the region. As of early this morning, there were approximately 355,000 without power in Massachusetts with 675,000 without power in Connecticut and 137,000 without power in New Hampshire.

As stated in the headlines, realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data are still without power, it is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated.

On behalf of the entire SKYWARN coordinator team and the National Weather Service forecast staff, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation and thanks to all the NWS Taunton area SKYWARN spotters and Amateur Radio Operators who provided us with valuable situational awareness data during this past October Nor’easter. There was not a moment during the 18 hour formal operations that we did not receive critical information from you folks. That information was of immeasurable value to all of our partners (i.e. the National Weather Service, the media, local, state and federal emergency management and all of our non-governmental organizations – Red Cross, Salvation Army, hospitals, Medical Reserve Corps, etc). This has been quite an active severe weather year, with the June 1st tornado outbreak, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, and now the October Nor’easter, not to mention the “normal” severe weather events we experienced. It is gratifying to see how well the training we go through pays off. We do not say Thank You enough to all of you for your support. We hear it from the NWS staff and the media all of the time, because we are right here with them, but that does not often get passed on to you folks – at least not often enough. THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Another post storm coordination message will follow late Wednesday Evening or Thursday Morning. Web site resources that those with power can share with those that don’t have power are listed below to keep those ‘in the dark’ situationally aware of what is happening as far as restoration efforts are listed below:

NWS Taunton Local Storm Report (Damage Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/lsr_10_30_11.txt

NWS Taunton Public Information Statement (Snowfall and Wind Gust Reports):
http://beta.wx1box.org/local/pns_10_30_11.txt

Connecticut Power and light (CL&P) Outage Map:
http://outage.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx

Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) Power Outage Map:
http://www.psnh.com/PowerOutagesStorms/Home/Storm-Updates.aspx

Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) Outage Map:
http://www.wmeco.com/outage/

National Grid Outage Map:
http://http://www1.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/stormcenter/

CT-211 Web Site:
http://www.211ct.org/referweb/landing.aspx

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

Read more

Hello to all..

..This message is a brief post historic major nor’easter coordination message. At the time of this message writing, about 660,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts and around 700,000 in Connecticut and over 200,000 in New Hampshire bringing the impact in Southern New England to over 1.5 million people without power..
..Widespread tree and wire damage with heavy elevation snows ranged from 12-24″ with isolated 30″+ amounts occurred. Winds at the coast gusted to almost 70 MPH across Cape Cod and the Islands..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and EMCOMM groups continue to monitor the situation closely in case support is needed..
..Realizing that many folks who may provide pictures and data maybe without power. It is reminded that even pictures and damage info given days after the incident can be very useful in understanding the extent of damage and providing a historical record for such an anomalous event. Any pictures that would be shared with the media, emergency management and NWS officials can be sent to pics@nsradio.org and credit will be given to the spotter who provided the pictures unless otherwise indicated..
..Another post storm coordination message will follow later this week. Below is the NWS Taunton Local Storm Report and Public Information Statement given on storm impact..

NWS Taunton Local Storm Report:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nwus51.KBOX.html

NWS Taunton Public Information Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.nous41.KBOX.html

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

Read more

Hello to all..

..Historic Nor’easter will require significant reporting of meteorological conditions and damage reports to provide situational awareness and disaster intelligence to the National Weather Service, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Emergency Management officials at the local, state and federal level and the media..
..This can come in the form of report updates sent over Amateur Radio, email, webform and spotter line. It can also come in the form of pictures and video updates which can be sent to the pics at nsradio.org email address. Credit will be given to the spotter that took the pictures and video and will be forwarded to media, NWS and emergency management officials unless otherwise specified by the spotter..

As has been done in other major events this year including Tropical Storm/Hurricane Irene, the June 1st, 2011 Tornado Outbreak and blizzards this winter, the SKYWARN Spotter reports of rainfall, snowfall, damage from wind and/or precipitation, river/stream/urban/coastal flooding are very critical to providing situational awareness to emergency management officials at all levels, NGOs and the media. Once again, we ask folks to provide reports based on the SKYWARN reporting criteria. Amateur Operators and SKYWARN Spotters that work in public safety can also provide reports from their location and surrounding areas that can help paint the picture of how bad the storm is helping the warning and response/recovery process.

Where possible, we also ask for pictures and video of damage and to raise awareness of what the sensible conditions in that manner as well. Please send these pictures and video as attachments (if under 8 Meg) or links to the pictures and video that can be easily emailed to the pics at nsradio.org email address like what was done during Irene. This is the fastest way to get the information disseminated to all appropraite folks. Credit will be given to the spotter that took the pictures and video as its forwarded to emergency management, media and NWS officials unless otherwise specified in the email.

For Amateur Radio Operators, a complete list of SKYWARN frequencies can be found at the wx1box.org web site, via the following link:

http://beta.wx1box.org/node/1453

We look forward to working with everyone in this potential significant storm event. Thanks to all for their support!

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

Read more

Hello to all..

..Anomalous and Historic Major Early Season Nor’easter taking aim on Southern New England. The most significant threat is for heavy wet snow and strong winds causing tree and power line damage in interior Southern New England but heavy rain, strong to damaging winds and coastal flood potential will affect coastal Southern New England. Preparations, particularly in interior Southern New England but also in coastal areas, for potential tree and wire damage and power outages should be completed by late Saturday Afternoon..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for Northern Connecticut, Western and Central Massachusetts including Northern Middlesex County Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire for 6-12″ of wet snow with highest amounts in the higher elevations of the warning area where a few locations could exceed 12″. This has the potential to produce widespread tree and power line damage and power outages over a portion of the warning area between the wet snow and strong winds that could gust between 25 and 45 MPH with stronger wind gusts in the southern and eastern portions of the warning area and in the higher elevations..
..A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 6 PM this evening through 8 AM Sunday for Central Middlesex, Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts and Northwest Providence County RI for 4-6″ of heavy wet snow and strong winds which will result in tree and power line damage and an area of widespread power outages. Winds could be sustained at 25-35 MPH with gusts up to 50-55 MPH..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 6 PM This Evening to 8 AM Sunday for 2-5″ of heavy wet snow and pockets of tree and power line damage and power outages for Western Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex County, Northern Bristol County of Massachusetts and Southeast Providence County Rhode Island..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 6 PM this evening through 8 AM Sunday for the North Shore of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Metro area, Eastern Norfolk County, and the remainder of Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts to the Cape Cod Canal for 1-4″ of snow and strong winds causing pockets of tree and power line damage and power outages..
..Areas outside of the Winter Storm Warning area and in the Winter Weather Advisory area may receive heavy rainfall around or in excess of 2″ leading to possible urban and poor drainage flooding in those locations and rivers and streams rising to bankful. A Flood Watch or Flood Advisories for urban and poor draiange areas could be issued for some of these areas as we get closer to the event..
..A High Wind Warning is now in effect from 2 PM Saturday Afternoon through 8 AM Sunday for Cape Cod and the Islands for sustained winds of 30-40 MPH with gusts up to 70 MPH..
..A High Wind Warning is now in effect from 8 PM this evening through 8 AM Sunday for all of Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts except for Central and Northern Middlesex Counties, and Western Essex County of Massachusetts and Northwest Providence County Rhode Island for sustained winds 20-30 MPH with gusts to 55-60 MPH..
..A Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect from 10 AM to 5 PM today for the Saturday Afternoon high tide. Winds will begin to increase out of the East and Northeast and this with a high astronomical high tide may result in some minor shore road flooding in the flood prone coastal areas. A Coastal Flood Warning is in effect from 11 PM Saturday Evening through 5 AM Sunday Morning for East Coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands. The late Saturday Evening to Sunday Morning high tide could result in moderate coastal flooding along poritons of the Coastal Flood Warning area..
..SKYWARN Activation with Amateur Radio Ops at NWS Taunton will commence at 400 PM EDT Saturday with overnight operations through Sunday Morning also likely..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and other EMCOMM groups in the Winter Storm Warning area in particular but also in the Winter Weather Advisory/Coastal Flood Warning and High Wind Warning areas should closely monitor the progress of this potentially significant, anomalous, historic early season major nor’easter/winter storm and seek advice from their local leadership..

There remains high confidence in a major early season and anomalous nor’easter storm that will bring heavy wet snow to the interior, heavy rainfall to the coast, strong to damaging winds especially along coastal areas and coastal flooding along the east coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod and Islands region. Model runs continue to converge on this solution and have increased the amount of precipitation over the region and have gotten a bit colder with the latest runs. The headlines of this coordination message detail the threats for each area well. Some details that could affect the forecast.

1.) Latest model runs have resulted in colder temperatures further east reesulting in the Winter Storm Warning being posted for some of the Winter Storm Watch areas from last night and Winter Weather Advisories brought down through the Boston to Providence area and coastal locations. It is noted that a storm track difference of as little as 30-50 miles could impact the storm conditions over the area. 30-50 miles further west, and the heaviest snow is further west into western portions of the warning area with mostly rain in the east. A track 30-50 miles further east would result in more snow further east. This is within the resolution of the models and can depend on other mesoscale factors so there still could be some fluctations in what’s expected particularly in the Metro Boston and Providence areas as well as along coastal locations.

2.) There is likely a zone within the Winter Storm Warning area of heavy snowfall with high water content that will result in extensive tree and power line damage and potential for widespread power outages. That zone within the warning area will be tough to determine and depend on mesoscale conditions that include the cooling of the ground, the heaviest precipitation, strongest winds and temperature. Also, the speed with which rain changes over to snow across the area and the elevation dependency will cause variations in snowfall amounts.

3.) Where this is a nor’easter in October and it is quite anomalous in terms of having a heavy snowfall event during this month, the nature of such an event may sound unlikely and can lead to less preparation and lower forecaster confidence. That said, there is multiple model agreement on this solution so it needs to be prepared for accordingly. There will be some mesoscale or short-term storm effects that the weather models will not pick up on that will probably need to be addressed as the storm unfolds over the region but the overall event seems likely based on multi-model run agreement and consensus of the models and this has the potential to be a high impact event for the region.

People in the Winter Storm Warning area in particular but also in the Winter Weather Advisory/Coastal Flood Warning/High Wind Warning areas should prepare for the potential of power outages. Having batteries and alternate power sources ready prior to late Saturday Afternoon for this storm would be advisable. If power isn’t lost in this event, you will be prepared for the next potential incident that results in power loss. Also, since this is an unusually early winter storm event, please be mindful of winter storm safety tips as listed below from last year’s NWS Taunton Winter Weather Awareness Week Statements and the NOAA Winter Preparedness Guide:

http://beta.wx1box.org/local/winter_safety.txt
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winterstorm/winterstorms.pdf

SKYWARN Activation with Amateur Radio Ops at NWS Taunton will commence at 400 PM EDT Saturday with overnight operations through Sunday Morning also likely. ARES/RACES/MARS and other EMCOMM groups in the Winter Storm Warning area in particular but also in the Winter Weather Advisory/Coastal Flood Warning and High Wind Warning areas should closely monitor the progress of this potentially significant, anomalous, historic early season major nor’easter/winter storm and seek advice from their local leadership.

This will likely be the last coordination message on this event. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Advisory Statement, Coastal Flood Warning/Advisory Statement, High Wind Warning Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook:

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

NWS Taunton Coastal Flood Warning/Advisory Statement:
http://kamala.cod.edu/ma/latest.whus41.KBOX.html

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

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

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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Hello to all..

..Anomalous Major Early Season Nor’easter taking aim on Southern New England. The most significant threat is for heavy wet snow and strong winds causing tree and power line damage in interior Southern New England but heavy rain, strong to damaging winds and coastal flood potential will affect coastal Southern New England. Preparations, particularly in interior Southern New England but also in coastal areas, for potential tree and wire damage and power outages should be completed by late Saturday Afternoon..
..A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for Northern Connecticut, Western and Central Massachusetts including Northern Middlesex County Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire for 6-12″ of wet snow with highest amounts in the higher elevations of the warning area. This has the potential to produce widespread tree and power line damage and power outages over a portion of the warning area between the wet snow and strong winds that could gust between 25 and 45 MPH with stronger wind gusts in the southern and eastern portions of the warning area and in the higher elevations..
..A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for Saturday Afternoon through Sunday Morning for Central Middlesex, Western Essex, Western Norfolk, and Northern Bristol Counties of Massachusetts and Providence County RI. 2-6″ of snow is possible in the Winter Storm Watch area and higher amounts of 6″ or more remain uncertain for this part of the region..
..Areas outside of the Winter Storm Warning/Watch area may receive heavy rainfall around or in excess of 2″ leading to possible urban and poor drainage flooding in those locations and rivers and streams rising to bankful..
..A High Wind Watch is in effect for Saturday Afternoon through Sunday Morning for Cape Cod and the Islands and Saturday Evening through Sunday Morning for Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts for sustained winds of 30-40 MPH with gusts up to 60 MPH particularly in coastal locations..
..A Coastal Flood Watch is in effect for Saturday Evening through late Saturday Night for East Coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod and the Islands for the late Saturday Evening high tide cycle. A Coastal Flood Advisory may be required for the Saturday Afternoon high tide cycle for minor coastal flooding during that high tide cycle..
..SKYWARN Activation with Amateur Radio Ops at NWS Taunton are likely starting around 400 PM EDT Saturday with overnight operations through Sunday Morning also likely. The start time will be fine tuned further between now and Saturday Morning..
..ARES/RACES/MARS and other EMCOMM groups in the Winter Storm Warning/Watch in particular but also in the Coastal Flood Watch and High Wind Watch areas should closely monitor the progress of this potentially significant, anomalous early season major nor’easter/winter storm and seek advice from their local leadership..

Confidence continues to grow in a major early season and anomalous nor’easter storm that will bring heavy wet snow to the interior, heavy rainfall to the coast, strong to damaging winds especially along coastal areas and coastal flooding along the east coastal Massachusetts and Cape Cod and Islands region. Model runs continue to converge on this solution and have increased the amount of precipitation over the region as well. The headlines of this coordination message detail the threats for each area well. A few details that have yet to be determined that will be fine tuned over the next 12 to 24 hours include:

1.) A storm track difference of as little as 30-50 miles could impact the storm conditions over the area. 30-50 miles further west, and the heaviest snow is further west into western portions of the warning area with mostly rain in the east. A track 30-50 miles further east would result in more snow further east and extending into the Winter Storm Watch area.

2.) There is likely a zone within the Winter Storm Warning area of heavy snowfall with high water content that will result in extensive tree and power line damage and potential for widespread power outages. That zone within the warning area will be tough to determine and depend on mesoscale conditions that include the cooling of the ground, the heaviest precipitation, strongest winds and temperature.

3.) Where this is a nor’easter in October and it is quite anomalous in terms of having a heavy snowfall event during this month, the nature of such an event may sound unlikely and can lead to less preparation and lower forecaster confidence. That said, there is multiple model agreement on this solution so it needs to be prepared for accordingly. There will be some mesoscale or short-term storm effects that the weather models will not pick up on that will probably need to be addressed as the storm unfolds over the region but the overall event seems likely based on multi-model run agreement and consensus of the models.

People in the Winter Storm Watch/Warning area should prepare for the potential of power outages. Having batteries and alternate power sources ready prior to late Saturday Afternoon for this storm would be advisable. If power isn’t lost in this event, you will be prepared for the next potential incident that results in power loss. Also, since this is an unusually early winter storm event, please be mindful of winter storm safety tips as listed below from last year’s NWS Taunton Winter Weather Awareness Week Statements and the NOAA Winter Preparedness Guide:

http://beta.wx1box.org/local/winter_safety.txt
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winterstorm/winterstorms.pdf

SKYWARN Activation with Amateur Radio Ops at NWS Taunton are likely starting around 400 PM EDT Saturday with overnight operations through Sunday Morning also likely. The start time will be fine tuned further between now and Saturday Morning. ARES/RACES/MARS and other EMCOMM groups in the Winter Storm Warning/Watch in particular but also in the Coastal Flood Watch and High Wind Watch areas should closely monitor the progress of this potentially significant, anomalous early season major nor’easter/winter storm and seek advice from their local leadership.

The next coordination message will be sent by 1230 PM Saturday. Below is the NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/Watch Statement, Coastal Flood Watch Statement, High Wind Watch Statement and Hazardous Weather Outlook:

NWS Taunton Winter Storm Warning/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 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

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

Read more