I’m a third-year atmospheric science student at Cornell University who has been blogging about the weather since 2011. While I’m not officially a meteorologist, I have accumulated a bit of experience forecasting both local weather (in western Maine and New Hampshire) as well as national/international weather during my time writing for weather.us and weathermodels.com. I also have experience programming in Python, teaching concepts in weather forecasting, and communicating forecast information to general audiences.
The rain/snow line is slowly moving eastward and will continue to do so as time goes on. The snow totals have been adjusted downwards due to temperature changes in the lower atmosphere and my total forecast now stands at 6-10″. The wind forecast has been altered too and my forecast stands at sustained winds of 30-40mph with gusts approaching 60 mph.
The storm we have been tracking the last few days has formed and could undergo rapid intensification at any time. The edge of the main precipitation shield is just north of Boston and moving towards us slowly but steadily. The precipitation will be rain for a little bit this evening but will have no trouble changing to snow tonight. The snow will be increasing in intensity and coverage as cyclogenisis occurs with the low. The storm will peak at around 7 am Sunday and start to wane after that.
Busy sat map with a developing gale off of Florida that is trekking north to meet with a trof near VA. Also in the picture is 97L in the W Caribbean and a few powerful extratropical lows in Canada.
The powerful nor’easter slated to hit tonight just got a whole lot bigger with totals of a foot or more potentially at the coast.
The storm will undergo a series of cycles that delivers a monster storm. The track has shifted farther east so the heaviest snow will be at the coast.
As the storm undergoes cyclogenisis (the rapid deepening of a low) the snow bands will be on the increase dumping a foot or more at the coast.
Winds will be a MAJOR THREAT when 60-80 mph gusts sweep through.
This is a powerful and dangerous storm so take EXTREME CAUTION when driving ( if they don’t shut down the roads) and also walking could be hazardous as well.
As of 7 the totals are decreasing and now 3-5 inches along the coast are expected with near a foot inland.
This change is because of a slight shift in track. By slight I mean about 5 miles to the west.
The inversion should align to provide a layer of warm air aloft that should, potentially bring a period of freezing rain to the immediate coast Saturday evening. This will make for hazardous walking conditions sunday morning as a layer of ice is covered by snow. The storm track changed in the last 1/2 hour and the forecast changed as a result. The track and forecast will likely change again so stay tuned for updates.
The extremely powerful nor’easter scheduled for Sunday will hit Saturday night will drop 4-8 inches along the coast with slightly higher amounts inland.
This is a VERY hard forecast with most of the global models pointing to a potent storm undergoing cyclogenesis around 40N 70W with heavy snow bands wrapping onshore late saturday night. The proximity to land and exact track will play a VERY important role in the forecast for snow and wind. A more westerly track will limit the snowfall totals due to rain changeover. If this westerly track were to play out than we would have a potentially historic ice storm on our hands.
If the system were to track slightly east than the coast would see a lot of snow with totals approaching a foot or more. This track is suggested by the GFS and WRF models
We will have to see what track plays out and I will post updates as needed.
The weekend stormWillhit in full glory saturday night. This storm will NOT go out to sea instead it will slam the region with HEAVY SNOW and VERY HIGH WINDS on saturday night!!!!!!!
We are under a winter storm watch.
Be prepared for heavy and blowing snow saturday night!
Stay tuned to forecasterjack as I bring you the latest information.