Storm Coordination Message #4 – Late Thursday Night 12/22/22-Saturday 12/24/22 High Impact Storm Potential
Hello to all…
..High impact storm will bring significant hazards to Southern New England in the form of strong to damaging winds, minor to moderate coastal flood potential and heavy rainfall with the potential for urban, poor drainage, river, and stream flooding late Thursday Night into Friday Night with the strong to damaging wind potential extending into a portion of the day Saturday. A period off snow at the start of the storm will occur in the Berkshires as well..
..Preparations for the potential of scattered to numerous pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages should begin now and if power isn’t lost, you are prepared for the next significant storm event when it occurs..
..A High Wind Warning remains in effect from 1 AM Friday Morning to 7 AM Saturday Morning for Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island for sustained winds of 25-35 MPH with gusts to 65 MPH and isolated higher wind gusts. These winds could result in scattered to numerous pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages..
..A Wind Advisory is now in effect from 1 AM Friday Morning to 7 PM Friday Evening for Northern Connecticut, all of Western Massachusetts and now includes Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties for sustained winds of 15-25 MPH and wind gusts of 50 MPH with isolated higher wind gusts to 55 MPH. These winds could result in scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages..
..A Coastal Flood Warning is now in effect from from 5 AM to 2 PM Friday for all of East and South Coastal Massachusetts and South Coastal Rhode Island for 1 to 2 feet of coastal inundation above ground level possible in low-lying areas near shorelines resulting in widespread minor to pockets of moderate coastal flooding at the time of the high tide cycle in these coastal areas..
..A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 7 PM Thursday Evening to 7 AM Friday Morning for Western Hampden, Western Hampshire and Western Hampden Counties for 2-4″ of snow before a changeover to rain Friday Morning..
..In addition to the damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall of 1-3″ with isolated higher amounts are likely region wide. All areas could see heavy rainfall change back to a brief period of snow and ice before ending Friday Evening with the possibility of some slippery travel before the storm ends from this precipitation and any leftover freezing of any wet roads if not dried out by strong winds. People with travel plans particularly on Friday 12/23 but also into Christmas Eve Morning should closely monitor the forecast..
..SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely to monitor this multi-hazard storm system Friday Morning into Christmas Eve. Amateur Radio call-up nets on the 146.940-Mount Tom Repeater for higher elevation snows will start at 800 PM this evening. Other net frequencies will activate during the day Friday during peak strong to damaging winds and heavy rainfall as needed in the region. Pictures and videos of wind damage, coastal flooding and any shoreline damage from coastal flooding, and any snowfall can be sent as a reply to this message, posted to our WX1BOX Facebook/Twitter feed or sent to the email address pics@nsradio.org..
A high impact storm will bring significant hazards to Southern New England during a busy travel time for the Christmas holiday on Friday into Christmas Eve. The headlines depict the current thinking with the big update being the High Wind Watch for Worcester and Northern Middlesex County converted to a Wind Advisory and a Winter Weather Advisory for the East Slopes of the Berkshires for 2-4″ of snow before the changeover to rain. Key factors remain:
1.) The strong to damaging wind potential is the most widespread concern in the region and could result in scattered to numerous pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages. These winds could also be enhanced in the vicinity of heavier rainfall/downpours, convective showers and possibly even a thunderstorm or two. The key factor which is typical in southerly wind events is how much of those very strong winds will reach the surface and what areas will see the strongest winds and how widespread those winds are. There could be two pulses of highest winds during the High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory timeframe, one centered during Friday Morning with a second maxima near Friday Evening. Between those strongest wind pulses, winds will still be strong to possibly damaging but we wanted to highlight the two timeframes of strongest winds.
2.) A widespread 1-3″ rainfall is expected in the region with isolated higher amounts. In areas of the east slopes of Berkshires and along the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, a period of snow is expected with advisory level snow expected in the east slopes of the Berkshires tonight into Friday Morning before the changeover to rain. That snowfall in addition to the recent heavier snowfall, snow melt and rainfall could result in some urban, poor drainage, river and stream flooding. Across other parts of Southern New England, urban and poor drainage flooding is possible.
3.) As we get into late Friday Night into early Saturday, there could be a changeover to snow before ending with little accumulation. Depending on residual moisture on road ways and the expected rapid cool down in temperatures, icy conditions could develop in spots for a period of time early Saturday morning.
4.) Strong winds will continue into (Christmas Eve). They won’t be as strong as Friday into the overnight/early morning hours of Christmas Eve but could gust 40-45 MPH with isolated higher wind gusts particularly in Southeast New England.
SKYWARN Self-Activation is likely to monitor this multi-hazard storm system Friday Morning into Christmas Eve. Amateur Radio call-up nets on the 146.940-Mount Tom Repeater for higher elevation snows will start at 800 PM this evening. Other net frequencies will activate during the day Friday during peak strong to damaging winds and heavy rainfall as needed in the region. Pictures and videos of wind damage, coastal flooding and any shoreline damage from coastal flooding, and any snowfall can be sent as a reply to this message, posted to our WX1BOX Facebook/Twitter feed or sent to the email address pics@nsradio.org. This will likely be the last coordination message as we shift into operations mode unless a significant change to the situation occurs and time allows for an update or we could update Amateur Radio Operations specifically for the region. Below is the NWS Boston/Norton High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement, Coastal Flood Warning Statement, Winter Weather Advisory Statement with snowfall maps, Wind Gust Map, Storm Total Rainfall Map and the Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:
NWS Boston/Norton High Wind Warning/Wind Advisory Statement:
https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=BOX&product=NPW&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off
NWS Boston/Norton Coastal Flood Warning Statement:
https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=BOX&product=CFW&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off
NWS Boston/Norton Winter Weather Advisory Statement & Snowfall Maps:
https://www.weather.gov/box/winter
NWS Boston/Norton Wind Gust Map:
https://wx1box.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wind_Gust_Map_3.png
NWS Boston/Norton Storm Total Rainfall Map:
https://wx1box.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Storm_Total_Rainfall_Graphic_2.png
NWS Boston/Norton Enhanced Hazardous Weather Outlook:
https://www.weather.gov/erh/ghwo?wfo=box
Respectfully Submitted,
Robert Macedo (KD1CY)
ARES SKYWARN Coordinator
Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator
Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875
Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503
Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com
https://ares.ema.arrl.org
https://www.wx1box.org