Storm Update (Tuesday 8:55AM)

350 Comments

We have found our jackpot zone! That would be the hills in Worcester County from the city southward along the towns of the eastern slopes of the hills. For a while last night I thought it may not happen and briefly pulled back the amounts, but shortly after that, it got going good there and I had to quickly up the amounts (and hope nobody noticed the oops – hehehe). Seriously, lots of snow out there. At least it is a dry and powdery snow and not clinging to trees and piling up on roofs.

As we had expected, we’re starting to see more pronounced gaps developing between heavier bands. One such gap is extending from part of the South Shore to near Narragansett Bay at this time, with the heaviest snow band just west of there in the I-495 belt to the west and northwest of Boston down toward Worcester and down to northwestern RI.

The rest of this update is just a tweak of the previous forecast, but more to come as the day goes on…

SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND FORECAST…
TODAY: Snow, heavy at times, but may mix with sleet/rain Nantucket and even taper off there for a while before resuming as all snow. Blowing and drifting snow with possible blizzard conditions especially eastern coastal MA and higher elevations more exposed to wind. Less drifting where snow is not as fluffy across Cape Cod and the Islands but still considerable blowing snow there. Chance of lightning and thunder at times. Temperatures steady 15-25 in most areas, still coldest to the northwest, but may rise briefly to the lower 30s Nantucket. Wind NE to N 15-35 MPH gusting 45-55 MPH inland, 25-45 MPH gusting 55-65 MPH coastal areas. Peak gusts of 65-75 MPH or even briefly stronger may take place in isolated coastal locations especially Cape Cod.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Snow ends gradually from west southeast to east northeast, firstly interior MA to RI, lastly eastern MA and southeastern NH. Additional blowing and drifting snow. Lows 10-20. Wind N to NW 15-35 MPH, higher gusts.
TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION FOR STORM: 18 TO 25 INCHES WITH HEAVIER POCKETS OF SNOW MUCH OF EASTERN MA, 10-18 INCHES NORTH CENTRAL MA INTO SOUTHWESTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL NH AS WELL AS CAPE COD, 8-14 INCHES NANTUCKET.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy to partly sunny. Chance of snow showers. Highs 25-30. Wind W 10-20 MPH.
THURSDAY: Sunny. Low 10. High 25.
FRIDAY: Cloudy. Chance of snow. Low 15. High 30.
SATURDAY: Cloudy with snow early then partly cloudy. Low 5. High 20.
SUNDAY: Sun to clouds. Snow at night. Low 0. High 25.
MONDAY: Snow early, then clearing. Low 10. High 20.

350 thoughts on “Storm Update (Tuesday 8:55AM)”

  1. First? Thanks for all your hard work on this storm, TK!

    Light snow where I am up in Plymouth, NH. Probably only 3-6″ on the way here. Tight NW flank, as you predicted.

    1. Several of us saw that coming. It is a characteristic of this kind of storm. But thank you. 🙂

      I’m still tweaking things even at this stage. There is no way to get the entire thing right in any storm, especially the biggies.

      I knew (or believed) since Sunday afternoon that the big amounts were not happening in the NYC/NJ area. My problem was trying to figure out how things were going to set up here in southeastern New England.

      The next thing since I discounted the ECMWF solution as being too far west, which was the basis for keeping the amounts down near NYC/NJ (not that I blog about it here, but in communicating with friends and fellow met’s in the area). Next it was to figure out why this low may be a shade further east. The key in that was the storm that went by here on Saturday, progged to be stronger than it turned out. Weaker trough associated with it, weaker mini ridge between it and the new developing storm, and the trough with this one is just a bit more to the east, maybe 20 miles, maybe 50 miles, but enough that it makes a big difference for some areas (NYC/NJ prime example). Then comes the problem of the banding. Nearly impossible to forecast too far in advance other than picking out where they are more likely to set up versus other areas. After that it becomes nowcasting (still don’t love that term but the process is completely necessary).

    2. I had thought it was to be lighter up that way which was why I was surprised with driving ban. Maybe it is easier to do statewide rather than by area

  2. After getting up at 6am I fell back asleep..Now up for good. Snow is a little lighter here now but from what Matt Noyes said and looking at the radar that won’t last long. It should pick up again here soon.

  3. Thanks TK. Any lulls up our way? Really on the fence about when to clean up…wife wants me to get some up today then tomorrow but I HATE cleaning more than once if I can avoid it. Not sure if tomorrow morning is best…

    1. We’ll start to see some lulls after noon but we may go in and out of light snow to heavier snow several times as it all starts to pull away. I’d clean twice but also be ready for a lot of blowing snow. The first cleanup should be about just moving the bulk that you can move to make the final cleanup a little easier.

  4. Ok just went out and did my unscientific measurements and I would say roughly 20-21 inches. Really hard to tell. The roads are snow packed but not all that bad.

      1. That’s impossible, but IF you want one, I’ll provide.

        Friday 2-4
        Monday 6-9

        AND you CANNOT hold me to those.

  7. All of a sudden the echoes are breaking apart on the radar.
    CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. OS, I was just going to post that while the band to the west was weakening a bit, weather underground radar seems to show a new band intensifying ….

    From east tip of Cape Ann south southwestward into Boston’s southwest suburbs.

    1. Tom I now see that. That Just appeared suddenly. Looks like the snow will
      become INTENSE again soon. Thanks for the heads up as I went away from radar for a bit. Always appreciate your fine input.

      1. Thanks OS !

        Also showing up on NWS radar thats 10 minutes behind weather underground. I have about 19 things open on the IPad. 🙂 🙂

  10. I realize this is a big storm for sure and possibly historic…but I am SO TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT HOW HISTORIC IT WILL BE. Man it’s too much. Ok, rant off. I feel better.

  11. I won’t be able to get an accurate measurement with all the wind blowing the snow around.
    There was prior to storm still a good 4 5 inches on the ground. I don’t plan on seeing grass for a while and maybe a light snowfall on Friday.

    1. Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 3m3 minutes ago
      29.7″ in Shrewsbury top of the snow pile right now. About to cross the 30″ threshold in a few towns. #blizzardof2015

      1. And this is what we mean by “heavier pockets”. There won’t be many 30+ amounts, but a few. 🙂

        1. It will be interesting to see what we end up with here in Hingham. As mentioned earlier a rough guess is around 20 inches right now give or take a couple.

  13. A nice moderate band setting up over my area now. Trying to play a little catch up but going to fall short of what eastern parts of SNE will end up. Still a very a good dumping of snow.

  14. Matt Noyes ‏@MattNoyesNECN 2m2 minutes ago
    Yowzahs. RT @benostrander: @MattNoyesNECN I just measured 23 inches in Framingham. That’s six inches in about two hours.

  16. I’ll be surprised if we don’t come close to 30. Still cannot get out but we had a solid 30 which was confirmed in 2013 and we are comparing pics from then to now and it ever so close.

      1. Westward a little more but probably only into the Boston area. All of this will be moving more to the south and less to the west now.

        1. We shall see. Not all that heavy at this point. I would have thought it would be snowing harder. Not

  19. There is not going to be a lot of melting of the snow in the next couple days. So you get lets say a moderate snow both Friday and early next week where you going to put the snow. I know we had that problem here in CT back in January 2011 when we got slammed that month.

  20. Matt Noyes ‏@MattNoyesNECN 14s15 seconds ago
    The City of Boston will also be enveloped in the newly developing band of snow – you likely can notice the uptick already.

  21. Ok this is good, still snowing at good clips with a steady wind with gusts as well that are higher.

    I saw talk about friday system and the system for monday, I would wait to mention anything about those. Just that the possibility is there

  27. That band developing in the western part of CT. is just a kick on the pants at this point. Nature saying, ahhhh, you COULD have had this all night and we’re just gonna stick it in your eye right at the end. NOT cool.

  28. Snowing harder now. Not as hard as earlier, but harder than it has been for awhile.
    Much bigger flakes now!!!

  29. I think the storm surge in Boston Harbor peaked at around 4.5 ft !!!!, perhaps 30 minutes ago.

    Sight downtick right now to 4.2ft above avg.

    As bad as it probably was, the surge was “only” 3.3 ft at 5am, the time of high tide.

    Also, only 3 days ago would have added another 1.5 ft to the astronomical height of the tide.

  32. I am going to enjoy this band right now. Here in CT it was the I-395 belt where these heavy bands setup shop. Southeastern CT going to get more snow out of this than Northwest Hills which rarely happens but that jog to the east made the difference.
    I am disappointed not getting the big amounts but around of foot of snow is still a good dumping.
    Two more watchers after this.

  34. I’d say that the 30″ in Shrewsbury is fairly accurate. I just shoveled a path for the puppy and it was near the top of my thighs in some places. Man, a lot of snow!

  36. A few models nailed that snow band west of Boston.

    Many of those also showed enhancement SSW of Boston, kind of where this new band is that everyone is posting about.

    Wonder if that one is there to remain for a bunch of hrs.

    Also, I think the center of the low can be seen on radar, east of Cape Cod, especially when a Boston radar loop is run.

  37. What’s with the MUCH BIGGER FLAKES all of a sudden.
    What does it mean?

    IS this OCEAN enhancement? Different lift with this band?

    TK any explanations? VERY CURIOUS. and thanks

  38. From Woods Hill, a comparison to 2013 (so far)…

    I’m a little behind the pace of the 2013 storm snowfall. I had 19 about this stage of the storm then, 15 now.

    Wind was stronger in the 2013 storm here.

      1. I had 25+ in the 2013 storm so I have a way to go to get there. The big time band was just NW of me in the early hours this morning.

    2. The biggest difference for us would be the density of the snow. Started wet, but not wet enough to plaster everything and has transitioned to powder, even here.

    2. Well they were southeast of the big band but it also depends on when/where the measurement was taken.

      Essential to be away from drifts and troughs and take several and average them.

        1. What’s the opposite of drift?
          UnDrift? no Drift? Driftless? subdrift?
          nubdrift? zerodrift?

          Is there such a thing?

  41. View 4 new Tweets
    Matt Noyes ‏@MattNoyesNECN 1m1 minute ago
    Plymouth MA just gusted to 63mph. Combined with the 77mph gust on the Vineyard, storm making it clear its muscle flex is now.

  43. Tom…earlier (previous blog) you asked my location in relation to the ocean. I’m about 1.5 miles SW of the sheltered harbor and about 5 miles or so WSW of the ocean itself.

    2. Near E. Weymouth line or South SHore Country Club or there about?
      We lived in E. Weymouth for a short time long ago.

          1. yep..especially when the winds are more from the N to NE….anything south of that and you have to go over about 7 miles of land to Cohasset

        1. As much as. Probably below that. Hence the range of 6 to 12 additional. It’s going to snow for about 12 more hours and I’m accounting for the possibility we get under a synoptic band. Some of the short range guidance shows that may happen.

  46. Hadi and others were indeed correct to remain patient.

    I’m sorry to re-post this, but I think it’s important to keep in mind the truism that weather is variable, dynamic, and therefore not as predictable as we would like.

    I do think we can say that the forecast for NJ and NYC missed the mark. However, here’s the thing that some people miss. All forecasts are probabilistic. None are with absolute certainty. The media wants to see things in black or white terms. They over-hyped the storm for NYC by putting out numbers that were: a. probabilistic and not definite; b. at the high end of the forecast. I heard statements yesterday from anchormen and women who asserted NYC would get 30 inches of snow: “NYC is going to get 30 inches of snow.” No forecaster worth his or her salt would say such a thing. TK pointed out yesterday – looking at two NWS maps – that in OS’s bad dream the following would occur (10 inches of snow in Boston), and in OS’s good dream (34 inches). NWS was doing the proper sensitivity analysis. Even with a sensitivity analysis unaccounted for variables can come into play because of the dynamic and unpredictable nature of weather.

  47. In a very short while this thing is essentially done west of the Worcester Hills. After that it’s just eastern MA, RI, and eastern NH. From there it will shut down very slowly in stages west to east.

  49. Snow is pretty intense here now. We must be closing in on 20 inches or so
    judging by looking at folks shoveling outside. I could be off by a few inches.
    I’m headed out AFTER lunch and I will “attempt” a measurement. That ought to be fun.
    😆

  51. adam michael vanyo ‏@amvanyo 4m4 minutes ago
    @jreineron7 after 5 measurements with my yard stick, 10am 22″ temp15.4,Chelsea (Prattville Hills) Chelsea/Everett line

      1. SO awesome. So many times it happens at night, and while it’s fun to wake up to 2 feet of snow, I MUCH prefer to be able to sit at my kitchen table and watch it happen!!! SO AWESOME!

  53. TK, my guess is we’re not done with the wind yet as the storm exits, and in fact could see gusts this afternoon over 60mph along the Mass. coastline south of Boston, and over 70mph on Cape Cod. Am I correct in saying that?

    1. For a while, yes. But I think we’ll notice the wind drop off more quickly than many would expect, since the storm center will no longer be deepening, but in fact weakening slightly as it pulls away.

      The ECMWF and NAM forecasts of maintaining intensity or intensifying while moving away will be incorrect. That’s the same reason these models blew the snow amounts for NYC. They forecast the low previous to this one to continue to blow up heading into the Maritimes when it in fact weakened.

  55. Just read the lates mesoscale discussion on matt noyes page, saying heaviest stuff will last until 20z? Is 20 z 8 pm? Or 3pm?

  56. SO WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    According to Pro Football Talk, there is video surveillance from Gillette Stadium that shows an employee taking two bags of footballs into the bathroom on the way to the field for 90 seconds prior to the AFC championship. The source says 12 were the Colts’ and 12 were the Patriots’. Finally, the source adds the video was discovered by the Patriots and turned over to the NFL early in their investigation.

    NO WAY 12 footballs can be deflated and measured in 90 seconds. NO WAY!

  58. Got out to measure…..in my PJs. Everywhere that is protected was either 22, 22.5 or 23 ….so,fair so far is 22.5. Not thinking there will be a whole lot more here

  59. Tk looks like my area and yours ( Reading-woburn) missed out on the band that was northwest of us earlier this morning and now to the east, very frustrating !! I know i am being greedy but do u think we will get into the heavier bands from the east before this is over?

  60. Normally I try to go and shovel a few times during a storm but this time I said the heck with it. With all the blowing and drifting it probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.

    I’ve only seen two plows go down the street in the last 90 minutes and all the seem to be doing is stirring up the snow that was packed down and then it blows back into the street LOL.

    Tomorrow will be an interesting call for a lot of businesses. Close, open late, or open on time. I know the med center was planning on opening on time if the snow had ended and there was power. Not sure how what might work out for some people.

    Depending upon the timing of Friday’s event even a smaller snow fall (2-4) could cause problems with the commute.

  61. I hope this last hurrah near the coast allows us to play catch up with
    those folks that sat under the really heavy band in the wee hours through
    this morning. Not that we’ll hit 30, but go solidly over 20.

    Snowing hard here. 1-2 inches per hour.

      1. The band over me is pretty intesnse right now. Looking back at the Wundermap radar and looks to be a break out in the CT River Valley but then another batch (band) of snow (not as heavy) out over the western part of the state.

    1. That couldn’t be more WRONG a statement. And since when has it become the 70/40? The rest of the world knows it as the 40/70 benchmark.

      The only way the 40/70 benchmark is useful is if EVERY storm has the same size precipitation shield and not only that, but it’s symmetrical! BZZZT! TRY AGAIN!

            1. Where and when? What I just re-read was what I had read before. Nice explanation.
              Awesome!

              Did you mean something else?

      3. It is on its way to 67 and sunny here!

        As for the tweet above -In the frequently used words of Tony on Felger and Mazz- “Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!”

  63. Not for Nothing, but 12Z GFS gives SNE RAIN on Friday due to Boundary Layer
    issues. GO FIGURE. Storm passes to our North pulling up some warmth.

  67. I’m glad Eric Fisher is addressing what is a common issue…

    Why is it that people somehow expect the snow totals to ALREADY BE IN PLACE when the storm is barely half over???

    People, these forecast totals are for the ENTIRE STORM! I don’t mean you people, I mean people in general.

    “Wow we only got a foot in Boston? They said 2 feet!” Yeah, why don’t you wait for the snow to actually finish falling!

  68. Here in Westborough, as of 3pm we have broken the 30 inch threshold. The snow was CRAZY a few hours ago with complete whiteout conditions. This is one of the strongest storms I have to say I’ve lived through in my 18 year life.

      1. You can say that again! I can barely see across Tremont Street! Can’t even make out an outline of the old John Hancock Weather Beacon!

        1. Eastern 1/3, maybe eastern 1/4 of Mass really under a lot of green and some dark green echoes.

          Well, maybe not Marshfield.

          Thats alright, we got clocked most of last night.

  69. TK,

    I feel like I can see 2 rotations on radar …. One east of Cape Cod, one south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

    Am I seeing things correctly ? If so, is one the surface low, one the upper feature ?

    Thanks.

  70. Two massive Highway plows (not the kind I normally see here Hingham) just went down the street really widening the road. It’s gonna take a lot longer to shove now..LOL.

      1. If we were on a side road I wouldn’t bother with the sidewalk but since we are on somewhat of a main road walking in the street is not that safe hence the need to shovel the sidewalk here too.

        Pretty intense snows still falling here.

        1. Radar is really accurate because its not doing a great deal right now. (well, except for the roaring breeze and pulses of ground whiteouts). 🙂

  71. TK-Most of what we talked about the other night was spot on.

    I will say it again-ECMWF slaves are getting burned because they are taking it verbatim and are not acknowledging or understanding the flaws it has had since August of 2013.

    Generally forecasts were good for SNE. 20″ plus Worcester east to the coast with some higher amounts and those higher amounts will be around 30″ in a few places. But again I think most good forecasts had the most favored area for that as the east facing hills of ORH.

    Of course people here 30-36″ and think every where is getting 3 feet and will the say we only got 22″, the weathermen blew it again. Is there really that big of a difference once you get to 20″? It is a lot of snow!

    1. Yup, you guys did a great job. And yest, once you get to 20 inches, what’s the difference. A shitload of snow is a shitload of snow.

      Still DUMPING here. 😀

    2. GFS wins again. Not a perfect model by any stretch and never has been. But clearly the better of the 2 right now.

      1. It was pretty damn good on this event, that’s for sure.

        Not even over cooking snow totals much. They were pretty
        much on target. If over done, only slightly.

  72. Hey how about that 48 inches the NAM wanted to dump on NYC per one of yesterday’s runs? Oopsie!

  73. Just finished round 1 of snow blowing and shoveling. I measured in as many places as I could with no drifting and the best I came up with was 15.5″ (12″ at 8am so that was about 1″/hr in the 3hrs I was out. Snow picking up more now, large flakes with lots of space in between.

    1. Cool. I’m going out after lunch. I’ll see what I can muster for measurements.
      I’t tough to measure in my location. I may have to take a walk to get
      some decent measurements. Perhaps I’ll walk out on Jamaica Pond and get
      one ON THE LEVEL.

      Hey Hadi, not to sound totally silly, BUT did you account for the SNOW
      that FELL the other day???? Just double checking.

  78. The GFS has been consistently better in my opinion for an extended period. It blew the November storm but otherwise has been a solid performer.

    My favorite line I saw about the GFS came from a NWS OKX discussion where they discounted its lower totals due to the fact it was suffering from convective feedback. I laughed my A** off at that. I am going to go back and find the discussion and print it off and put in on my office wall.

    The NAM and ECMWF were punishing NYC and most everyone went with it. But the NAM had a couple of 00z runs leading up to the storm that were really good, it just kept running home to mama on most every other run, which in the NAM’s case is over-amped precip totals on the W/NW side of a low that is in the process of going negative tilt.

  79. Our better performing model (GFS), at least on its 12z run, has a bit of a milder solution to the next 2 solutions ….. Well, at least for Marshfield. 🙂 🙂

    Thats alright, we’re used to slush down here.

    2. Ok for Boston on 2nd system. It’s 6 days out but GFS wants to lay down
      a general 6-10 inches NW of South shore, including Boston.

    3. Should be interesting to see if the “new” king stays the course. Rain would make things a mess. Noted that most TV mets and the NWS are going for milder on Friday but still snow. For Sunday night/Monday colder and snow.

    1. Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 6m6 minutes ago
      NEW top totals: Framingham 30″, Acton 28″, Littleton 28″, Tyngsboro 27″, Dracut 25″, Worcester 25″. Bam. #blizzardof2015

      1. There could be some spots that push 36.” I am Always hesitant to fully buy the biggest totals in these types of storms but some places have a shot. Though generally I think most places will top off about 8-10″ less than that. I can tell you they are literally high if they think the CT River valley which is generally 5-7″ of snow right now ends up 14-18″

  82. Yellow echoes right over boston. Boy would i love for it to go little more west. It must be snowing crazy now in Boston

  83. What is the SNOW ratio?
    It’s 17.4 here with BIG flakes. Like feathers. Fluff factor must be enormous.

  85. Is the driving ban still in place? A couple cars just drove down my street followed by a police car a minute later.

    2. I hear the Gov last night. I did NOT hear Ban.
      I heard stay off the roads unless you really need to be out there.

    3. In place as far as I know. I haven’t seen anything except plows and a couple of town trucks here in Hingham

  87. Pounding snow in Woburn now with a good deal of wind. Not horrendous wind, just steady around 20-25 MPH blowing the snow sideways, few gusts above 30 MPH.

      1. Enjoy and I hope so Ace.

        Really, I dont think we’ve had 2 inches of snow total since 8am.

        Been in that lull area.

    1. Boomer is a big Pats Fan…I watching his show on WFAN one morning (on CBS Sports) and he clearly was frustrated with the crap his sidekicks were throwing out about the Pats.

    2. Thanks TK – witch hunt it is and I see you were not kidding about the fire alarm going off. Well I guess if Seattle cannot disrupt them by pushing the underinflated balls, they have other tactics in mind. Let’s put as much time against seeing who set off the alarm. We know there is video.

  93. Ryan Hanrahan ‏@ryanhanrahan 2m2 minutes ago
    I’m thinking another foot under that band near Boston. 3 feet totals easily for some of those towns just west of the city.

    1. Judging by what is happening out my window, I can totally see that! Maybe not 3ft…but closer to 30 inches than 20!

  94. Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 4m4 minutes ago
    Approaching 2 feet in Copley Square, snowing at 1″/hr rate. #blizzardof2015

  95. adam michael vanyo ‏@amvanyo 2m2 minutes ago
    @jreineron7 @amvanyo: @jreineron7 after 5 measurements w/yard stick, 10a-12noon 26″ temp15.8,Chelsea (Prattville Hills) Chelsea/Everett line

  96. Quote of the storm from a reporter (Susie Steimle, ch 4): “And if you were unfortunate enough to get hit by the snow drift, you might be under several feet of snow and it will take several hours to dig your house out.”

    It’s her first day on the job. We’ll let her have this one. 🙂

      1. Do you have the rain/snow line checked off? If you have it checked off it just shows you green and yellow, no blue color. In staring at it now!

    1. NortheastWeatherHQ ‏@NEweatherHQ 5m5 minutes ago
      RT @reinhardt_scott: Boston and Metro West will be the jackpot for this storm by far.

    1. Yes BUT will Logan surpass 27.5. That is the most important thing.
      We have reached 30 in JP before (78), but we have to get Logan there!!!!!!

  101. SNOWZILLA, SNOWMAGGEDON!!!!!

    I’m drowning in SNOW

    Boston is going to catch up to Metro West!!!!!!!!!!!11

  102. Synoptic band showing first signs of weakening. May re-energize briefly one more time before decaying basically in place. I figure 3-6 more inches under the heaviest band and then just minor additional after that.

      1. Record is a possibility. I did not think that would happen.

        Boston is in the news worldwide, which is unusual. The reason is NYC got so little snow. So, they’re asking on the Dutch news, for example, what happened? Well, the mets there are saying, Boston is getting hit the hardest. Then, they zoom in on a map to show people where Boston is in relation to NYC. Naturally they’re not going into detail on which towns surrounding Boston got more. Their reference to Boston is Greater Boston, with an emphasis on greater.

      1. There is a lot of air movement and moisture up there. It’s all about interactions. Something causes the band to be injected with upward moving air for a time – resulting in increase snow again.

  103. I thought that this guy was good.

    Ryan Maue ‏@RyanMaue 8m8 minutes ago
    Updated NWS forecast (Noon EST) for additional snowfall to come:
    10-12” Boston
    16-17” Maine

  104. Eric Fisher ‏@ericfisher 1m1 minute ago
    Gov. Charlie Baker is lifting the travel ban for WMass (Franklin/Hampshire/Hampden/Berkshire Counties) effective immediately, except I-90

  106. Snow starting to let up. Certainly did not get the snow many of you are getting.
    Meteorologist Gil SImmons said his attention starting to turn to Sunday night into Monday. Only think few inches for Thursday night Friday

      2. Odd out my front and back windows it looks like it’s barely snowing…maybe it’s the wind? Just seems like a lazy snowfall and has been all morning.

  108. It’s insane right now. Near zero visibility. The wife was making pumpkin bread but did not something so I drove to stop and shop and you cant see anything.

    1. HOWEVER, STILL SNowing pretty good.
      Flakes appear to be a bit smaller. Perhaps that’s why it’s not yellow anymore, because it’s still snowing pretty damn hard. 😀

  115. Charlie Baker’s press conference was very VERY well done. He had everything down just the way he needed it. Accurate info and good decisions. Driving ban lifted in the westernmost 4 counties of MA except Route 90. Driving ban remains in place to the east.

    He even had his weather info down correctly! Referenced the short range guidance, not by name, but it was clear he was on the phone with forecasters that were telling him about the short range guidance and he understood it.

    A+ for the governor on this one.

    1. He gained back his slight negative from this morning when he said it was less snow than forecast. I thought Patrick did a good job. I think Baker is doing a better job. Calmer and less dramatic.

      1. I was not a big fan of Patrick. Nice guy but I found he was too all over the place with that stuff. He did ok at times.

        I think someone pulled Baker aside after this morning and made sure he wasn’t going down a road of looking like a buffoon by making uninformed statements. Maybe Eric Fisher called him up. 😉

        1. I agree re Baker. I came close to voting for him when he ran against Patrick. He tends to be superior and that lost him a lot of votes. He figured that out this last time but I saw traces of the condescension in this morning’s new conference. I think it may be part of who he is but he listens when advised and I like that.

          I am NOT a fan of his across the board hiring freeze but I do think that he has handled this exceptionally well and agree with your A+

    2. Was he wearing the mandated military style vest and rolled up sleeves to look like it’s important? HAHA.

        1. It did. Cement doesn’t last forever and since the coastline was shaped by storms over many many years, it’s only a matter of time that what we put in the way will come down too.

          2. Funny thing is that folks have been saying for decades that Humarock for all intents and purposes won’t last much longer. Don’t know if you are familiar with it, but it is a narrow penninsula with ocean on one side and south river on other. And yet…there it is. However, those who have lived there for generations also will tell you that the destructive storms are far closer together and repeated damage is much worse. But then the beach is also shrinking.

          3. I think the area of wall that fell was btwn Burke’s beach in Marshfield and Duxbury Beach.

            Saw Jim Smith reporting on it for ch 4.

            Good sign, wind is now NNW.

            Aready surge dropped from +4.5ft to +3.2 ft.

              1. I’m still unsure on that and I saw the report. 🙂

                I know Marshfield has money for wall repair, I just dont know if it was for that particular part of the seawall.

  118. Clearly I underestimated the snows after a slow start. We have at least 2 ft and still snowing 1 inch per hour. After I plowed the driveway another 1.5 inches fell.

    1. Thanks shotime. I’m trying to figure out how to find where he/she measures from and it is always higher than what I measure. Keith, is there a way to tell the location of a ham radio? Or don’t they give enough info?

  120. TK. How much snow do you think is left from this storm in terms of accumulation for eastern MA. 3-5 inches?

    1. About that much. This band is starting to snow itself out, but that will take a while. Maybe one more very brief punch left in it.

    1. We got the tweet about 2 hours ago for Woburn. The phone call comes about an hour later. No surprise. Most places will close for tomorrow. Several will remain closed Thursday, and a few last places will call it off on Friday as well.

      1. Makes sense. Framingham is closed for a PD day on Friday so I wonder if they will just remain closed on Thurs.

    3. I’m praying Westborough closes tomorrow, but Westborough is usually a stickler when it comes to snow days

  123. I am amazed…still coming down to beat the band. Gotta get motivated to get out their shortly.

      1. 2 shifts. One now, one this evening.
        My neighbor that I share a driveway with is actually out there snowblowing, so about 70% of the driveway will be done before I get out and I can just focus on clearing the stairs, around 2 cars, and then the walkways that lead to the downstairs apartment where my parents live.

  128. Great storm for you guys in eastern MA. Pretty big forecast bust here in CT, especially the western parts of the state. Ended up with about 14″ here in Coventry – I was just far enough east to get into some good banding action overnight. I’ll take it.

    Looking at the new King (GFS), potential for another significant snow event (6″+) on Monday and for the last 4 runs, it has also been signaling a potent coastal storm around 2/6. We could be building up a pretty hefty snowpack if everything comes together.

  130. I swear there is like a snow blocking machine in my town, all the heavy bands over night eaely this morning were 3 to 4 mikes west of me, then the band that formed over Boston extended only to 3 or 4 miles east of me putting my town right in the middle, I don’t think my town hit 20 inches yet

  131. Alot of the younger weather watchers and some inexperienced older ones are including the 4-6 inches that was already on the ground as part of their storm totals. Oops.

    Skewed numbers…

    1. True…that’s why I took my measurements (earlier) and visuals on the walkway and driveway where the ground had been cleared. Even still with drifting, etc I’m probably only 80% accurate.

    2. Ah ha. That would account for the 5 inch discrepancy between the ham operators and my measurements. Only I have seen him around for a while and he does always come in higher than mine

    3. Vicki that 30″ in Framingham is an outlier, I had 19″ in Sherborn (South Framingham line) around 9AM and Natick had 19″ around 10AM. Sudbury, Newton and West Newton are all around 20″ as well measured between 9AM and 11AM.

      Per TK’s suggestion.. I wonder if that Framingham measurement is an aggregate between the two storms.

      1. I am a comfortable 23 excluding last weekends storm. I took measurements in multiple locations that I know from experience are protected. I’m not sure if he overestimates anyway as I said the same about him in feb 2013 and other storms.

  133. Tk stupid question since you don’t live here but is it possible that Reading only got 14.5 inches as of 120 PM today? Just saw the latest snow reports Wow i am feeling really disappointed now .. I hope that’s a false report. How can all the towns that border me get 20 inches or more except me? That really is a snow hole.

  134. Still some heavy banding towards the eastern MA coast, looks like Logan is getting hit hard now. That 27.5″ record is in real jeopardy. I think they fall a couple inches short, but it may be close.

  135. New blog posted! This will be the last update until this evening. Heading outside for a few hours now… 🙂

    Stay safe everybody and thank you. 😀

  137. I think a lot of people are measuring in snow drifts or including the snow already on the ground in their measurements as TK said. Some very skewed reports of 17 and 19″ in the towns adjacent to me in CT whereas I measured only 14″ here. Need to take several measurements in multiple different locations and average them.

  139. Went out thinking it was going to stop and it’s still cranking. 29.5″. My personal record here is 32.5. Not sure if I’ll get there but 30″+ looks like a lock.

  141. **full disclosure**

    I’ve got a really nice snowboard setup for measuring, protected nicely from the wind as much as it can be. Hadi can vouch. It’s pre-mark with measurements and all.

    I’m really fussy about it.

  142. Dunes breeched in Truro letting ocean into river. Wonder if that is similar to Humarock being separated from scituate.

    Also 5 showing lots of cars on pike near Alston. This is common shift change time for many so hopefully they all should be there. And a tractor trailer jackknifed on pike in Berkshire cty. I would think that it wouldn’t be allowed to drive

    Pike still quite snow covered. Roads may not open tonight

  143. Hadi will choke, but I just came in for a break from shoveling. Made a zillion
    measurements. Sorry, but my best average measurement is 21.0 inches. 😀

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