edschweppe | Entries tagged with snowpocalypse now

The National Weather Service still has a Winter Storm Warning posted for my neck of the woods until 1AM tomorrow morning:
( but only another inch or two of accumulation )
I'm not going anywhere tonight, so no worries on my part. Seven inches of accumulation as of this morning; eleven as of just a moment ago. Alas, the winds are picking up, so going for a walk tonight won't qualify as fun.

And Wednesday is still forecast for low 50s (F) and rain, so it'll probably be all washed away come Thursday.

So far, not a disastrous amount of snow. I was in the warm sector last night and part of this morning and thus received absolutely soaking rains (probably well over two inches). The snow started locally about nine o'clock; my car roof had a tad over six inches of heavy, wet snow when I went out and checked just now. *Lots* of power outages north and (especially) west of me, where it was cold enough for snow last night as well.

I'm still under a Winter Storm Warning until eight o'clock tomorrow morning; the National Weather Service thinks I might get another three to five inches.

Things are calming down somewhat, although the blizzard warnings have yet to be officially discontinued. It's hard to tell exactly how much snow I've gotten so far, courtesy of all the drifting that's going on; based on some snowblower cuts, I'm guessing a foot and a half.

Now it's getting really damn cold; the National Weather Service is predicting a low of around three degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chills around negative eleven.

On the other hand, Thursday's prediction is for rain, with temperatures in the upper 40s.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has posted our first Winter Storm Warning of the season, with five to eight inches expected in my neck of the woods tomorrow morning:
( Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow )
I'm actually on the lighter side of the current forecast, with ten inches or more possible in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Seventeen inches of heavy wet snow on the hood of my car this morning; National Weather Service spotters in the immediate area were reporting as much as 21.8 inches.

The NWS tweeted out an observed snowfall map showing the high amounts around me - as well as the very sharp gradient running roughly along I-95 / MA-128, especially south of Boston. (No snow on Cape Cod, only a few inches in Boston proper.)

Said car is finally dug out. Me, I'm just tired out.

NWS forecast is for 10-14 inches in my neck of the woods today, and maybe an inch or so more overnight.

Then we get the deep freeze. Tonight's low temperature is predicted to be 7F. Saturday's high is predicted to be 6F.

Temperatures are not predicted to get above the freezing point until Tuesday at the earliest.

Current Mood: cold

It's Pi day (3/14) and we've got a blizzard! Or at least warnings thereof:


URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Taunton MA
719 AM EDT Tue Mar 14 2017

CTZ002>004-MAZ002>012-026-RIZ001-141930-
/O.CON.KBOX.BZ.W.0003.170314T1200Z-170315T0000Z/
Hartford CT-Tolland CT-Windham CT-Western Franklin MA-
Eastern Franklin MA-Northern Worcester MA-Central Middlesex MA-
Western Essex MA-Eastern Essex MA-Western Hampshire MA-
Western Hampden MA-Eastern Hampshire MA-Eastern Hampden MA-
Southern Worcester MA-Northern Middlesex MA-
Northwest Providence RI-
Including the cities of Hartford, Windsor Locks, Union, Vernon,
Putnam, Willimantic, Charlemont, Greenfield, Orange, Barre,
Fitchburg, Framingham, Lowell, Lawrence, Gloucester,
Chesterfield, Blandford, Amherst, Northampton, Springfield,
Milford, Worcester, Ayer, Foster, and Smithfield
719 AM EDT Tue Mar 14 2017

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

* LOCATIONS...Western Massachusetts and Hartford County in
  Connecticut.

* HAZARD TYPES...Heavy snow with Blizzard Conditions.

* ACCUMULATIONS...Snow accumulation of 12 to 18 inches, with
  localized 18 to 24 inch amounts possible across extreme
  western Massachusetts.

* TIMING...Snow will overspread the region through 7 am this
  morning. The snow will quickly become heavy by late morning
  with 2 to 4 inch per hour snowfall rates possible at times
  into the afternoon. The snow may end as a bit of sleet or
  freezing rain across portions of northern CT into central MA
  and northeast MA. The snow will taper off early this evening...
  but lingering snow showers will remain possible especially
  across far western MA.

* IMPACTS...The heavy snow and strong winds will result in
  blizzard conditions and near zero visibility at times. Many
  roads will become impassable and strong winds may result in
  some tree damage and scattered power outages...especially
  across northeast MA. Travel is not recommended.

* WINDS...Northeast 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.

* VISIBILITIES...One quarter mile or less at times.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Blizzard Warning is issued when sustained winds or frequent
gusts over 35 mph are expected with considerable falling and/or
blowing snow. Visibilities will become poor with whiteout
conditions at times. Those venturing outdoors may become lost or
disoriented. So persons in the warning area are strongly advised
to stay indoors.

Given the forecast, I didn't bother trying to go into work this morning. The commuter rail is running on a "reduced" schedule, and walking through the teeth of a blizzard is ... not my idea of fun.

(Also, I think this is the first time I've reprinted a National Weather Service warning message since they abandoned their ALL-CAPS TELETYPE FORMAT. I kind of miss it.)

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/230143.html

The Bangor, Maine police have some good advice for folks not used to major snowstorms (hi, USA mid-Atlantic states!):

1. Don't panic. It's just frozen rain. It does go away so don't try to move too much at one time.
2. Don't shovel too early and don't wait too long. Pace yourself. Go out every few hours and move a little at a time. It can hurt your back, arms and legs. You always wonder why we all walk funny. It is not because of the clam chowder.
3. Heart attacks in big snow storms are rather common. Help out your neighbor who is older, out of shape or that has known health problems. Helping them move some snow (better yet, let your offspring do it) is better than calling EMS while you are doing CPR. Seriously.

The full list is on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153904589291079&id=227432866078

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/209374.html

Well, the National Weather Service has yet to officially declare this storm a blizzard. Still, it's certainly snowing to beat the band out my hotel window, and it sure looks like the visibility is less than a quarter-mile, so I suspect it's just a matter of time. According to the news, February 2015 is now the snowiest month in Boston history - and there are still two weeks in the month!

Reading the long-term portion of the current NWS area forecast discussion, even the weather professionals are getting a bit punchy:

 - POTENTIAL MIDWEEK STORM SYSTEM MAINLY IN THE FORM OF SNOW
 - CONTINUED BITTERLY COLD
 - NO BREAK IN THE WEATHER PATTERN
 - NEXT CHANCE OF WARMTH: SOMETIME SPRING INTO SUMMER

OTOH, I don't have to go anywhere today. And my car's in a hotel garage, so I won't even have to dig it out tomorrow morning!

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/185446.html

Okay, this is really, seriously, fucking bad. Everything the MBTA runs on rails? Shut down tomorrow:

All #MBTA Subway, Trolley, & @MBTA_CR service will be suspended from start to end of srvc on Tuesday Feb 10 #MAsnow http://t.co/b64qZOblgI
— MBTA (@MBTA) February 9, 2015

Guess who's not going into work tomorrow, either?

Current Mood: frustrated
Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/184720.html

Three weeks running now, we've had a big snowstorm to start the week [1], and three weeks running now I'm not even trying to go into the Current Paying Gig on Monday.

Overnight, I only received about four inches or so, which in "normal" times would be a manageable amount to deal with for the short drive to the commuter rail parking lot. However, the MBTA still hasn't recovered from the five-plus feet of snow that Boston's already received in the last couple of weeks. Plus, while I've made a lot of progress over the last six months, my knee still isn't what anyone could call fully recovered - and I really have no interest in walking the mile from North Station to the Current Paying Gig when said mile is most likely poorly (if at all) shoveled. Let's not even talk about the single-digit wind chill factors out there...

In short, therefore, I'm once again staying at home. Whee.

[1] Technically, the big snow on the 26th didn't start until evening; however, the forecasts were dire enough that I didn't risk going into town and getting caught trying to get home in the teeth of a blizzard.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/184459.html

Not snowing at this moment. That's likely to change in the next couple of hours, according to the forecasts, which still have me in the 18-24 inch band by Monday night.

Meanwhile, no word from the Current Paying Gig if they're going to be open on Monday or not. And the MBTA commuter rail is having serious problems maintaining their Sunday schedule - so far, they've had three scheduled departures from Fitchburg and two of them have been reported as delayed. This bodes ill for the chances of working trains tomorrow, in the teeth of inch-an-hour snowfalls; even if the CPG is open, odds appear poor that I'll be able to make it in.

Joy.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/184277.html

Another Winter Storm Warning is up, effective 10PM tonight through 1AM Tuesday morning. This time, the call is for 12-18 inches through Monday night ... except for a "localized band of 18 to 24 inches", which is located approximately between where I live and where I work. I've got a funny feeling that I'm not going into the Current Paying Gig come Monday morning ...

We've already had multiple feet of snowfall this year. According to the graphic I just saw on the television, Boston had 5.5 inches of snowfall this season before January 23 - and 48.7 inches since then. I've got twenty inches on the ground right now, not counting plow berms and parking-lot mountains.

Joy.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/183837.html

Or mostly dug out, at least. It looks like I picked up about fourteen inches of fluffy snow from today's storm, which is hopefully finally abating.

I did not risk going into the Current Paying Gig, as that would have involved (a) driving on back roads (b) to the commuter rail parking lot, then (c) taking the train in and (d) walking from North Station to said Current Paying Gig. (a) would have been bad enough, but even if (b) had been properly plowed in the morning (no guarantee) it would have been socked in by nightfall. (c) would have been an "adventure", since almost every train was either seriously late or cancelled entirely (due to mechanical failures, frozen switches, etc) And (d) - well, Boston hadn't finished clearing sidewalks from the last snowpocalypse. Slogging a mile through a foot of snow would be just the thing for my not-yet-fully-functional knee. (Not.)

Tomorrow? We'll see; at least I'm dug out enough to have the option of going in.

Weather folks on the news were saying that this has been the snowiest single week in local history. Over three feet in Boston; over four feet in Worcester; over five feet in Leominster, about fifteen miles west of here.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/183351.html

At least two feet on the ground, and plenty of drifts higher than that.

However, it's a very light and fluffy snow in my neck of the woods, which has kept the trees from shedding branches all over the power lines. Judging from news reports, the South Shore and Cape Cod have been getting the heavier stuff and losing power as a result. Nantucket Island is apparently completely without power, courtesy of ocean spray getting into a main transformer station and doing bad things thereto.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/182831.html

Well, it's started snowing, at least. Barely a coating on my car, but there is snow on the ground.

And, presumably, lots more to come in the very near future. The final paragraph of the current NWS blizzard warning says it all:

ALL UNNECESSARY TRAVEL IS DISCOURAGED! THIS IS A SERIOUS LIFE-
THREATENING STORM!

Meanwhile, the forecast for the rest of this week is pretty much snow, snow and more snow:

Tonight: Heavy Snow (100%) Low: 12 °F

Tuesday: Heavy Snow (100%) High: 20 °F

Tuesday Night: Snow (90%) Low: 11 °F

Wednesday: Chance Snow (30%) High: 24 °F

Wednesday Night: Mostly Clear Low: 4 °F

Thursday: Slight Chance Snow (20%) High: 30 °F

Thursday Night: Snow Likely (60%) Low: 21 °F

Friday: Snow Likely (60%) High: 34 °F

Friday Night: Chance Snow (30%) Low: 11 °F

Welcome to New England.

Crossposts: http://edschweppe.livejournal.com/182774.html

Edmund Schweppe

Winding down...

Not quite a snowpocalypse ...

Still snowing

Here comes the snow!

Whump.

The snowpocalypse commences

Snowpocalypse Pie

Tips on dealing with major snowstorms, from the professionals of Downeast Maine

The Second Blizzard of 2015

MBTA rail service shutdown tomorrow!

It's Monday, so it must be snowing

Hiatus

Here we go again...

Dug out

Yes, we have a Snowpocalpyse!

Snowpocalypse now?

Profile

February 2025

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Active Entries

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags