Setups like this are difficult. We had a batch of snow come through last night, but there was a long lull between then and the snow arriving now. Last night’s snow amounted to a good 3-6″, but with the pause today, a lot of that was cleaned up. So now that the second and final wave of snow has moved in, it seemingly skews the amounts.
Bottom line: the map to the right is the TOTAL snow accumulation. If your town got 6″ last night, subtract that from the amounts you see to get the amount you’ll see tonight and tomorrow. Got it? Good. Now…onto the forecast.
Watching the ocean effect snow bands this afternoon, it dawned on me that I could be totally off with my bullseye solely on the North Shore and in Boston last night. So I’ve accounted for that and included the South Shore in the big 20-24 range. This ocean effect band is fickle! It wavered back and forth through the day and even dissipated for a spell. This has to be one of the toughest forecasts of the winter. You don’t need a meteorologist, you need a shaman.
Shaman aside, we have several hours of snow ahead. Pulses of moderate snow are possible as a storm forms far to the south early tomorrow. This storm will help to enhance the snowfall rates, but at no point will it hit us squarely in the eye. That’s key to the forecast. And that’s also what makes the snowfall amounts vary so much.
Wrap up on the storm is after midnight Monday, with cold, blustery (but somewhat bright) weather expected Tuesday. I want to prepare (and not scare) you for the potential for another storm to brush us Thu/Fri. Amounts should be on the order of 3-6 – NOT 2 feet – so there’s that. And, in case you’re wondering, we’re not out of the woods at all long range. Snow may fly again over Valentine’s Day.
I have too much on my plate to get down and dirty with those storms now, so details will have to wait until after we catch our breath on Tuesday.
You dig?
Pete