Posted on 01/28/2022 9:17:03 AM PST by Capt. Tom
A powerful nor'easter moving toward Boston could bring snowfall totals high enough to break previous January records, with more than 2 feet of accumulation possible.
The largest snowfall in January in Boston took place back in 2015, when we had 24.6 inches of snow; the largest snowfall ever in the city was President's Day weekend 2003, with 27.6 inches of snow. Those records may still be standing Saturday evening, but there's also a chance they are both broken.
Greater Boston will likely see between 18 and 28 inches, and some pockets could even see more than 30 inches where the heavier bands land.
Temperatures this morning are milder than yesterday by nearly 20 degrees, and it's a good chance to get out and prepare for the big storm before it arrives.
Low pressure moves up the coast on Saturday bringing wind, snow and some coastal flooding. (Courtesy TropicalTidbits) Low pressure moves up the coast on Saturday bringing wind, snow and some coastal flooding. (Courtesy TropicalTidbits) The large, intense storm will move up the coastline Saturday, bringing powerful winds at the coast. It looks as though we will see anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of snow fall per hour during its height. If this lasts for three hours, that puts down 6 to 12 inches of snow in a very short amount of time. This intensity means it will be impossible to travel and even plows will have to pull over and wait it out.
This heavy snowfall will occur from mid-morning through late afternoon. This is the time when travel is not recommended. Temperatures are going to be very cold during the height, allowing the snow to pile up with very high snow to water ratios.
Chris Besse, a spokesman for Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, also emphasized road safety.
"Many of our partners at Mass. [Department of Transportation] and the local officials, they'll be really focused on the roads and the heavy snowfall amounts. And really the best thing people can do there is to stay off the roads if they can tomorrow," Besse said. "Low visibility and blowing winds for an extended period of time can make whiteout and really dangerous travel conditions."
Forecasting the exact placement of heavy snow bands is a bit difficult, similar to forecasting a line of thunderstorms in the summer, but the favorite areas are just southwest of Boston and perhaps also a small area northwest.
A blizzard warning from NWS has been expanded west to the I-495/I-95 corridor.
The entire storm will wind down by around midnight Saturday and when you get up Sunday morning, it will already be clearing.
When you're outside cleaning up, you'll need to use a heavy coat and gloves because it is going to be cold.
Cape Cod is an exception, as temperatures will be in the 30s and snow will be heavy and wet. There may even be some rain on the outer part of the Cape, as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. It is there that the snowfall amounts could end up a lot lower if the rain lasts through the middle of the day.
Cold air will be moving south toward Cape Cod during the storm Saturday. Notice temperatures in the teens in Boston and points north. (Courtesy WeatherBELL) Coastal flooding will occur, but because of the fast-moving nature of the low pressure area, the height of the storm occurring at low tide and the fact that winds will be a little more northerly all prevent a major flooding event.
Coastal flooding is forecast to minor in Boston Harbor on Saturday. (Courtesy NOAA)
Power outages are possible, especially over Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts, where the winds will be strongest. Issues with power are less likely inland because the winds won't be as strong and the light nature of the snow will allow it to blow off the trees and wires.
When you get up Sunday morning, the snow will be over and it will be bright and sunny. The map below shows the percentage of cloud cover, which is forecast to be near-zero.
It continues to be chillier than average into Monday, before we get a moderating trend in the middle of the week. That may not last, however, with more cold air for the second week of February.
I think it’s called “winter.”
Me too, I loved it. A week off from school, and I used the time to build a snow fort at the end of the driveway where the street plows really piled up the snow that Vauban would have been proud of.
Indeed. The kids remember it fondly, the adults, not-so-much.
The oil trucks couldn’t get to the hill where I lived, and I ran out of oil. I tried desperately to keep my Amazon Parrot (Long-John) warm, but he died from the cold. (sigh).
The only one who really liked it was my Samoyed Dog, Preston.
Stay safe Tom. Looks like it’s just East enough to spare me.
LOL!
Up in the U P of Michigan if the snow was not flying over the hood of the pick up when you were driving, it wasnt worth mentioning.
That is why I live in AZ now.
I think the record is around 380 inches up in the copper country. Buffalo, the U P and the Mountains out west.
BTW, I had to plow my driveway with my D5 bulldozer once in a while to widen it out.
I grew up in Orchard Park, NY on the south side of Buffalo.
The Blizzard of 77 I was 14 years old. We received 3+’ of snow over several days. The wind blew as high as 75 mph. It blew all the snow that had accumulated on the frozen surface of Lake Erie onto the land of WNY. There were snow drifts 8-10’ high. School was closed for a week.
They called out the National Guard. They also asked anyone who owned a snowmobile to go to their neighborhood fire station to
take food to elderly people.
I remember riding down a 4 lane road on the back of my buddies snowmobile. We went over a bump in the road. I looked back and we had just driven over a car.
[IMG]https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod/images/dynamic/wcvb/WCVB_Web_Snowfall.jpg[/IMG]
Boston Wind Forecast
[URL]https://www.windalert.com/spot/768[/URL]
[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51847315232_ce7466bced_o.jpg[/IMG]
I had a post-doc at UB in 1983-84 and heard stories about the blizzard of ‘77. Some of my cousins had lived there for decades (although there seemed to be tendency for them to move to southern California for some reason). They mostly lived in an Italian neighborhood near the Peace Bridge.
After the Blizzard of 77 in January we had an ice storm in March. That was almost worse. Everything coated with 1/4” or more of ice. Broken trees, downed power lines everywhere.
We had another week off of school. We had no power on our street except for my one friends house down on the corner that was serviced by another electrical line. All of us neighborhood kids hung out at their house all week.
We paid for it in June though. We ended up having to go to school until almost July to make up for all the closings in the winter.
It looks like much of the coast is going to see actual blizzard conditions this weekend.
We’re far enough west that snowfall totals are not expected to be very high, but the winds are going to be an issue.
Winds like that take down trees and power lines. We will have our wood pile in the house replenished and the generator all set up and ready to go.
I do expect widespread power outages, which is not going to end well for a whole lot of people as the overnight lows are going to be bad enough with the windchill that it’s going to pose a danger to anyone outside and for pipes freezing and bursting in houses.
On the bright side, if you lose power, you can stick the food in your fridge outside in coolers.
No, it’s amusing.
Nice thing is, you all are sharing the wealth.
All along the coast of NJ and DE there are blizzard warnings as well.
DC looks to get hit with some significant weather, too.
One could hope for a slight westward wobble in the storm track and shut down DC for a few days.
We are just starting to see some lazy snowflakes coming down well ahead of the main body of the storm.
In the blizzard of 1978 in Boston/Cambridge the snow covered all the street-side parked cars for more than a week.
There was no traffic though!
I was in Tonawanda for that and same thing.
My best friend and I went looking for her sister’s former convertible and found it by the antenna sticking up out of the snow.
There was a front loader scooping up snow to clear the street and we stood off to the side looking down on it as the guy worked. The snow was packed harder than any snow I had ever seen. You COULD NOT leave a boot print or mark in it, and we tried. It was solid as a rock. Hard as ice but not slippery like it.
That’s where the Italian neighborhood was. It’s now Hispanic.
I miss LaNova’s though.
It’s still there, but we are not.
That's the way I see it.
In my coastal town of Scituate,Ma. the roadways have been sprayed, the Boston TV stations have their TV trucks in place, Eversource Electric trucks are everywhere getting ready for the power outages, and the snow plows are everywhere.
But if it is a blizzard, they will have to wait it out. -Tom
Power outages during really cold weather are so dangerous. I Wonder how many snowbirds are in Florida, leaving their Northeast homes empty.
Supposedly, according to Accuweather, winter will be very mild starting next Sunday in my city.
BLIZZARD WARNING ISSUED: 3:22 PM JAN. 28, 2022 – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 5 AM EST SUNDAY...
* WHAT...Blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of 18 to 24 inches with localized 30 inches possible. Winds gusting as high as 70 mph.
* WHERE...Portions of eastern, northeastern and southeastern Massachusetts.
* WHEN...From midnight tonight to 5 AM EST Sunday.
* IMPACTS...Travel could be extremely difficult to impossible. Very strong winds could cause extensive tree damage.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Considerable blowing and drifting snow along with near white out conditions at times. Snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour is possible at times.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. &&
Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. OMG! Another pandemic!!
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