Thursday Forecast

687 Comments

2:51AM

DAY 1 (TODAY’S STORM)
I’ve decided to isolate “day 1” into its own section for the purposes of this weather event. You may remember recent reminders of poor computer model performance beyond 3 days and a weather pattern that can produce a renegade big snow event with not a lot of warning. Well, here it is. This storm is coming today as low pressure tracks east northeast off the northern Mid Atlantic Coast and tracks just south of New England while intensifying rapidly, during which time it will gather Atlantic moisture and throw it into much colder air, which follows a Wednesday that started very icy but ended up feeling like spring. Classic changeable New England weather – it’s really nothing new. So let’s run through a break down of the storm and just incorporate today’s and tonight’s detailed forecast into this…
START: Should be underway already by dawn in western and central MA to southwestern NH, and much of CT, then rapidly advance eastward so that Boston and Providence are into the snow by 8AM and areas to the southeast of there are underway shortly thereafter.
PRECIPITATION TYPE: May start as rain in far southeastern MA, especially cape Cod and the Islands, and perhaps far southern RI, but here it will change to snow and be a wet to average consistency snow, staying wettest on Nantucket, which may take until early afternoon to go to snow. Elsewhere, it’s all snow, of average consistency near the South Shore for a while before becoming lower water content later, and a dry/fluffy snow for the remainder of the region.
PEAK TIME: 9AM-2PM CT / central MA / southwestern NH, 10AM-4PM RI / eastern MA / southeastern NH. Snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour will be common during the peak time, especially under bands of heavier snow that set up. It’s always difficult to say where these will be more than a few hours in advance, and even closer to the occurrence, so will monitor and update.
COASTAL FRONT: This feature is a boundary, like a localized front, that marks the edge of very cold air over inland areas and less cold air from the ocean. In this case, northeast winds will be blowing in the region to the east of the boundary, while to the west the are blowing from the north in the much colder air. This creates an area of convergence of air and results in rising air which then results in a band of heavier precipitation. The most likely spot for this to set up is from Boston to just inland of the South Shore.
THUNDERSNOW: Yes, lightning and thunder are possible with the heavier snow bands.
END TIME: Connecticut Valley and Hartford area about 5PM, Worcester MA north and south by 7PM, Boston area north and south by 9PM, and final flakes exiting Cape Cod by 11PM or midnight.
SNOW ACCUMULATION: Widespread 10-15 inches for most locations. Exceptions, under 10 inches in portions of southwestern NH to north central MA and in a few valley areas and probably over Nantucket due to a wetter snow. Pockets of greater than 15 inches are very possible especially associated with heavier precipitation banding which is common with rapidly-intensifying storm systems.
TEMPERATURE: Starting out in the 30s over far southeastern MA and southern RI but falling to the upper 20s here by late-day, mainly from the middle and lower 20s to upper 10s elsewhere. There may also be a sharp contrast in temperature from near 30 just east of the coastal front to near 20 just west of it. By tonight, all areas fall to overnight lows of 5-13.
WIND: NE increasing to 15-30 MPH with gusts as high as 45-55 MPH over southeastern MA, N increasing to 15-25 MPH with gusts as high as 35-45 MPH elsewhere.
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS: This is most likely to occur in southeastern MA where the winds are strongest for the longest period of time, at least in terms of being an official blizzard by definition (3 or more consecutive hours of greatly-reduced visibility caused by sustained winds or frequent wind gusts of 35 MPH or greater), but it’s important to note that gusty winds blowing the falling and already fallen drier/fluffy snow around in areas further to the north and west will create white-out conditions at times, even if the official criteria for a blizzard are not met.
POST-STORM: The sky will clear from west to east as temperatures fall to lows of 8-16 with NW wind diminishing slightly but remaining gusty.

DAYS 2-5 (FEBRUARY 10-13)
A shot of very cold air Friday will be followed by a small low pressure system coming from Canada via the Great Lakes bringing a risk of snow during the morning hours of Saturday. The next system will be on its heels and bring a chance of snow/rain by late Sunday to early Monday. Track of this one will be critical to determining precipitation type. This system may also try to intensify rapidly as it departs but will watch in case it happens sooner.
FRIDAY: Sun and passing clouds. Highs 18-25. Wind NW 15-25 MPH. Wind chill often below 10.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Clouding over. Chance of snow late. Lows 10-18. Wind W 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY: Mainly cloudy. Chance of snow morning with minor accumulation. Highs 28-35. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
SUNDAY: Mainly cloudy. Chance of rain/mix/snow late. Lows 20-28. Highs 35-42.
MONDAY: Mainly cloudy early with chance of snow/mix/rain. Partly sunny later. Lows 32-40. Highs 40-48.

DAYS 6-10 (FEBRUARY 14-18)
Active pattern continues with fair/cold weather February 14, then a storm threat February 15 which may bring snow/mix. A very cold air mass may arrive for the middle and end of this period.

DAYS 11-15 (FEBRUARY 19-23)
Temperatures recover and moderate with a little more quiet pattern.

687 thoughts on “Thursday Forecast”

  7. I think all snow lovers feel this way. Tweet from meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan
    Like a kid waiting for Santa Claus sleeping the night before a snowstorm is hard. Get ready… it’s looking wild today.

  10. Went from a few flakes to BAM moderate snow and snow covered roads in about 10 minutes. Saw a tweet from meteorologist Ed Vallee of thunder snow in parts of Hudson River Valley of NY.

  12. Good morning. Thank you TK

    Up since 3:00. Too excited to sleep. Not seeing anything yet but radar says I should soon.

  13. Coastal mentioned the HRRR, and I’ll throw the RAP in there as well, as not being overly impressive, and they aren’t. QPF closer to 0.7-0.8″ for most (with banding). It’ll be a matter of what we can do with that. Looking at radar, it looks a lot like what the NAM has been modeling. Big band out to the west that’s just pounding the Albany area (4″/hr!!). Heavy core of intense snow and convection down towards NYC. Bit of a gap in the Boston-Providence corridor, which will fill in, but will also mean, as we’ve been expecting, that heavy snow won’t last all that long. No big changes to the forecast, but on the whole I think TK’s 10-15″ will be closer for most locations than 12-18″, not that it’s a huge distinction.

  15. Give it time. Not to concerned about HRRR or RAP. Just looking forward to seeing the wall of snow coming. Enjoy the day! Thanks TK

  17. First flakes flying here. Temp 36 and that surprises me, but it will be tumbling fast
    really soon. 😀

    I looked at radar an hour ago and wasn’t impressed, but now. Well it’s a different story.
    WALL of SNOW as someone mentioned is upon us. 😀

    1. Temp here has actually risen the past hour. Was 33 around 6am, now 36. However, as I type this, it’s starting to snow!

    2. I’m not offering that it’s going to rain, but I just think it’s going to take a few hours to really cool off. The wind at the buoy is 050.

      I think until the low center gets to Martha’s vineyard, upper 20s to near 30 may be it at Logan, low 30s on the south shore and mid 30s on the cape.

      Then a temp plunge.

  18. Like vicki, I’ve Been up since 4 but to feed a one month old, still feeling the same excitement…radar looks very impressive…if what’s happening in Albany is accurate I wouldn’t worry about underachieving on this event…going to be really fun to watch

  19. We’re actually getting moderate, borderline heavy snow here in Plymouth, NH right now, associated with an extension of the Albany band. The flakes are beautiful. Big and fluffy. Bodes well for good ratios.

  23. Here is the HRRR reflectivity for 11Z. So where the bleep is the heavy banding out
    by ALbany? Doesn’t show on 12Z either.

    So, I say, screw the HRRR for today!!!

  26. The wind has ramped up here as it is very windy already. I am wondering if
    blizzard warning shouldn’t be extended up into the Boston Area???

    7Am Logan wind at 21.

    despite temp now at 35, car tops and roofs all white already.

    2. Hope for the wind to back more, to drop the temps or wet snow will become a story. It’s not dramatically colder in southern NH or Maine, yet. 🙂

  29. Use HRRR with caution for now. Will probably correct itself soon.

    I’m going mobile now and will be at a remote location until I can safely get back on the road sometime mid afternoon. Will check in when possible.

  31. According to obs, the cold that will drop temps locally into the teens has passed Burlington, VT to Bangor, ME.

    Most of central to southern NH and Maine are running 26F to 31F.

  34. The wind starting to pick up a bit where I am.
    After this we get a bit of snow tomorrow night into Sat. 1-3 inches. Then Sunday night Monday and middle of next week could be interesting.

  36. I was updating our office greeting and then I looked out and it was as if a switch was thrown. YIKES!!! Moderate to at times HEAVY snow here with temperature having
    fallen to 34 with the all important dew point sitting at 27-28.

  38. This is just the beginning. I still think were going to see a lot of areas in SNE in the 10-15 inch range which is not to shabby for a fast moving storm system.

  40. I know we are in the middle of an event, BUT has anyone looked at the EURO for
    MONDAY? OMG! HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!!!!

  41. Pretty sure we are the only bank open in our area. Meeting at 9:00 to make a decision on when to close. Had a few raindrops hit my windshield on the drive in at 6:30.

  43. Down to 33 here and is it ever snowing. Sure, I have seen heavier, but for so soon
    after commencement, it is impressive.

    1. It clearly shows a coastal that’s trying to bomb out as it moves beyond New England. If that occurs sooner, watch out!

  51. Light to moderate snow here in Sudbury. Sidewalks still bare; husband says maybe because they dumped a lot of salt on sidewalks yesterday. But I expect them to get covered soon. Winter’s here! 🙂

  52. This is from the SPC mesoscale discussion:

    Moisture and lift will continue to increase across the region as a
    surface low deepens to the south and shifts northeastward. Extreme
    lift and plenty of moisture in the favorable dendritic growth zone
    will maximize heavy snow potential. Any rain should change to all
    snow by early afternoon with 1-2″/hr rates common. Beyond 10 AM and
    east of the MCD area, rates may increase to 3-4″/hr across southern
    New England including the Boston vicinity, peaking between noon and
    4 PM.

  54. No thundersnow here in Coventry so far JJ. I’m not sure about Manchester as I am not in the office today.

  57. http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44013

    Coastal and Sue and anyone else on the south shore and Cape … If your following the weather, I recommend you check into this link occasionally. It can give you an idea of the temp and wind direction 16 nautical miles out in Boston harbor. It’s somewhat important for our local area for implications of when it turns colder so we don’t have wet snow and tree issues. I believe we want to see the air temp drop below 30F and the wind back to 010 or 360. That should deliver meaningful cold air into our area.

    But, as you can see right now, upper 30F air is streaming in off of Massachusetts bay on winds that are 040, so this airflow of relatively mild air is probably also impacting areas several miles inland from the ocean.

    1. I might add, as the air mass cools down, that same air could contribute
      to ocean enhanced snowfall ala ocean effect to compliment the synoptic snow.
      If you notice on the NWS snow map, there is a bulls eye of 18-24 inches along the coastal areas down towards Plymouth:D

      1. 🙂

        high tide is in 1 hr. Astronomically high with a full moon tomorrow, but thank goodness the storm hasn’t had a chance to maximize a surge. But, there should still be some good photos/video coming out of Brant Rock soon on Facebook.

  58. Flakes got a little bit smaller and the visibility dropped a bit.
    Just a word on the radars. As the snow dries out and has less water content, the
    radar echoes are not as strong. Those greens on the radar can actually still mean
    heavy snow. 😀

  59. 8Am Obs from Logan. I don’t what they are smoking over there, but I can tell you
    the visibility here is under 1/2 mile.

    Boston, Logan International Airport, MA
    (KBOS) 42.36056N 71.01056W
    Last Updated: Feb 9 2017, 7:54 am EST
    Thu, 09 Feb 2017 07:54:00 -0500
    Weather: Light Snow and Breezy
    Temperature: 34.0 °F (1.1 °C)
    Dewpoint: 28.9 °F (-1.7 °C)
    Relative Humidity: 82 %
    Wind: from the Northeast at 25.3 gusting to 29.9 MPH (22 gusting to 26 KT)
    Wind Chill: 21 F (-6 C)
    Visibility: 2.50 miles
    MSL Pressure: 1002.9 mb
    Altimeter: 29.62 in Hg

  60. Hey what up with this radar loop. Precip stopped moving to the East on the far South shore. Everthing seems to be pivoting Northward. A snow shadow or almost hole
    developing just North of Boston?????

    https://radblast.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/radar/WUNIDS_map?station=BOX&brand=wui&num=10&delay=15&type=N0R&frame=0&scale=0.3739130434782609&noclutter=0&showstorms=0&mapx=400&mapy=240&centerx=461.51162790697686&centery=253.37209302325573&transx=61.511627906976855&transy=13.37209302325573&showlabels=1&severe=0&rainsnow=0&lightning=Hide&smooth=0&rand=24777443&lat=0&lon=0&label=you

    2. That’s the low at higher levels starting to close off a bit, I believe. Great for Atlantic moisture inflow.

  61. Nothing much here right now in Hingham. A little bit of a mix but the temp has dropped from 39 around 6am to 35 right now.

    1. Gotta love it! Did someone say we’d get most of our snow in a 2-3 week period?
      😀 😀 😀

      Let’s see IF it pans out.

  64. In all of the posts, I believe I saw a new poster….South OB….Welcome. What a great day to share with you.

    1. Thanks Vicki,
      I have posted before but very infrequently. I love the blog. I deal with snow removal for my job and this site is invaluable.
      Thank you to TK and to all who contribute.

      Still 36 and rain in East Bridgewater

  66. If the EURO pans out this will be the first winter Bradley will have above normal snowfall for a winter season after getting measurable snow in October.
    So far BDL has 20.8 inches of snow for the season.

  69. Just pounding snow now in Coventry, CT. Closing in on 5″ with 2″ in the last 45 minutes. 26 degrees.

    1. They just said wind gusts to over 40 mph on Cape Ann.

      Honestly, I think the Blizzard Warning should be extened all along the coast up to NH border.

    3. Let me guess…a reporter on the cape by a sea wall…someone in Worcester…and someone in downtown Boston?

  71. Mark I just measured 6 inches. I see no problem getting to a foot or over if this snow continues like this into the mid afternoon.

  72. As JPDave stated we are in a precip hole here right now right along the extreme coastal area of the South Shore. Temp is still at 35 here in Hingham and the wind has started to pick up a bit. I’m working from home today.

  75. Still rain on parts of the South Shore. Just talked to my brother in Whitman and it is mixing there but primarily rain.

    1. Same here Sue. So many places that closed are probably saying “what’s going on” and so many places that are thinking of closing are probably saying “maybe we should just stay open”.

  76. There are so many trees and houses in my neighborhood that it is difficult to
    determine the visibility, but It is absolutely positively BELOW 1/2 mile and honestly
    I think it is at 1/4 mile. Hadi? Joshua? Philip? John? What do you think?

    9AM obs from Logan available shortly.

    I haven’t eaten breakfast yet. I have to get me some food. 😀

  79. Been snowing hard here since 8am but hasn’t accumulated much. Just now starting to stick to the roadways. Maybe 1/4″

  80. Pretty quiet in Woburn…been snowing since 8 or so but very small hard to see flakes. Light dusting, visibility excellent.

  83. Things will get cranking soon and are already doing so, but my ideas from last night about the warmth south of Boston have proven to have merit. Places from around Taunton southward started as rain, and Ace’s report indicates low ratios even where it started as snow.

    Looks like heavy snow between Springfield and Worcester, as well as over northern RI. A persistent shadow in Metro West. Lot of localized features, as expected.

    2. I must admit I was shocked when I awoke this morning and saw that it
      was the same temperature as when I went to bed, 37. By 7AM it did drop to 36 and it did start as snow, but I expected about 28-30 degrees by 7AM. Not so.
      Good Call.

  86. Coastal front in process of setting up. Temps have ever so slightly risen on the Cape to the low 40s where the wind is slightly closer to east, than northeast.

    Harbor buoy wind is running 040 to 050.

    Then, of course, inland ….. it’s colder and the winds are backed some.

    I wish the NWS would special statement SE Mass and the Cape to highlight the short term milder reality being seen and to alert the public down here not to let their guard down cause you know what happens when it’s supposed to be snowing by 9am and people look out their windows and it’s raining and 35 to 40F.

    1. And the very latest buoy report has the wind veering even more to 050 with specific times wind directions btwn 053 and 055. That’s not going to cool things off south of Boston quickly.

    2. Yeaaa i just noticed that on radar. Hopefully that fills in and fast or eastern MA will get holed for a while…

  90. From Facebook ….

    Reports of morrisey boulevard near UMass Boston, all 6 lanes covered with water and closed. This would be near the painted gas tanks you see on rt 93.

  91. Pretty much a complete whiteout here and wind is really kicking up. Visibility is down to a couple hundred yards. Getting harder to make accurate snow measurements.

  92. This thing is coming in further north and west than modeled, no? I thought the center was forecast to go about right over the BM, but looks like it wants to track right up to the Cape

    2. I don’t believe so.

      The cold air didnt have momentum ahead of the storm. The storm is going to have to move east enough to circulate the cold air into our local region.

      Probably has to get to around block island or Martha’s Vineyard and then the cold air will arrive first for your area and then a bit later where I live. But right now, where the sfc low is, the winds are too NE to thrust any cold push into southern New England and I really think it’s that and less that the storm is tracking further north and west.

  94. Wind is really gusting here at times….Wundermap station out in Hull reporting gusts to 60mph! Temp here is down to 34 and the snow has picked up a little bit…still nothing to write home about.

    1. YUCK!!

      Temperature just dropped to 31 here, so I expect more blowing around of the snow. Logan was gusting to 36 mph as of 9AM, so it’s getting windy.

  101. In the past 10-15 minutes the snow has picked up to steady light to sometimes moderate here in Hingham. Grassy areas and cars are starting to coat up. Wind is very gusty at times.

  102. Was just outside more sleet than snow right now. Not really building up yet. Wind is wicked…half the time windy snow means my roof stays bare…hoping that’s the case!

    1. That’s actually tiny granular partly melted and re-frozen flakes common to a cooling atmosphere with the profile as is. Watching live Zion web cam now.

  103. Tweet from meteorologist John Homenuk
    Thundersnow on Long Island! As the dynamics continue to impress, this could be a common theme over Long Island and Southern New England.

  105. I would respectfully submit that I don’t believe we are seeing dry slots.

    I kind of think the visual is like a skater spinning faster and faster, the skater’s body frame usually contracts.

    The storm at the surface and aloft is strengthening rapidly and the precip core is intensifying but compacting.

  106. The echo-free areas south of CC on radar are simply the last of dry air aloft. Precip hasn’t really gotten there fully yet.

      1. It had the feel of the changeover about to begin. Ran out to get gas as I cruised right on by the gas station on my way into work as I was day dreaming about the storm. 🙂

    2. I think b/c we’re all aware this will be a such a quick hitting storm, any delay will result in less overall impact in the end in terms of snowfall

  111. 27 degrees here in groveland…cold air is coming…..anyone see the end of the 12z run on the nam? The Euro just might be onto something

  112. vis down under 1/2 mile again here. My street has been plowed twice. 😀 Didn’t really
    need it. Closing in on 2 inches here.

    1. My favorite is what just happened…first guy comes and dumps sand on the street then a plow comes and scoops it all up. City must work like the military…use your budget or lose it next year.

  113. TK, what is the consistent blob of yellow and sometimes orange that appears to
    be mostly stationary down around the radar site at Taunton. Looks like some
    kind of radar anomaly to me. 😀

  115. For those who are seeing rain and/or mix at the moment, you won’t be too far behind. Even where it has been snowing there haven’t been big accumulations yet. Closing in on an inch here in Sharon with moderate snow. Intensity has been fluctuating between light and moderate.

  117. Friend posted a video of her view of the ocean, some splash over and she says there is water in the roads and winds at about 25 based on her weather station she has . Temperature around 32.

  119. Just saw they put Jim Cantore in Plymouth. He sounded bummed that its not snowing yet and no thundersnow

  121. Just a dusting in Pelham, NH and not even snowing. We have been in a dry slot all morning. Will it continue? Dave Epstein mentioned Merrimack Valley may see the least amount of snow. What is the reason?

    1. Snow intensity varies here between light and moderate. Sidewalks, cars, lawns and driveways have a light coating. Wind is pretty fierce at times. Temp is down to 31. The snow hole south of CC seems to be filling in.

  123. Down to 30 here with the snow blowing around. visibility fluctuated between
    1/2 AND 3/4 Mile. Not the 1/4 mile I saw earlier.

    Logan 10AM Obs

    Boston, Logan International Airport, MA
    (KBOS) 42.36056N 71.01056W
    Last Updated: Feb 9 2017, 9:54 am EST
    Thu, 09 Feb 2017 09:54:00 -0500
    Weather: Snow Freezing Fog and Windy
    Temperature: 31.0 °F (-0.6 °C)
    Dewpoint: 28.0 °F (-2.2 °C)
    Relative Humidity: 89 %
    Wind: from the Northeast at 32.2 gusting to 42.6 MPH (28 gusting to 37 KT)
    Wind Chill: 16 F (-9 C)
    Visibility: 0.50 miles
    MSL Pressure: 1001.9 mb
    Altimeter: 29.59 in Hg

    1. If those gusts are frequent and the snow picks up for at least 3 hours, might
      not Boston Come under the Blizzard Warning? Certainly in the realm of
      possibility. We shall see.

  127. Haterain that’s what I was fearing as well. Unfortunately it looks like the Merrimack valley will get screwed over. Watching the fader is frustrating. Those damn echoes keep retrieving back as soon as they hit north of boston, why is that?

    1. i was looking at those maps and they didn’t even show the strikes in MA, so
      I find them to be highly suspect. Oh I am sure those CT strikes are real, but
      how many are they missing?

  134. Extremely disappointed so far in North Reading. It’s snowing, but not very hard, and we are seeing occasional wind gusts. That’s it. Maybe we aren’t going to see 12 inches, nevermind 15-18.

      1. Of course I listened to TK! Bottom line though is we don’t even have an inch yet and it’s still not snowing hard. Just reporting. And given the rapid movement of this storm, it just appears to me the amounts predicted for this area of the state are likely overdone. It snowed harder here the other day.

        1. Please see my post below. You “could” be correct.
          You are on the fringes of that hole. Ie the gap between
          2 big bands.

  136. I don’t remember seeing these many lightning bolts in CT during a winter storm. I have had lightning bolts as close by as Wolcott and Prospect.

  137. Huge whole in and around Lowell. No snow and not snowing. No way will we realize the amounts they are calling for. Maybe already too late…

    1. See my post below. You just may be correct. You are in what i called
      the SCREW ZONE or screwed zone if you will. Sorry. Let’s hope it changes.

    1. Go visit him. I did it years ago when he was in Natick.
      He invited me into the production truck and we had a nice chat.
      I liked him. Very friendly.

  140. Let’ see if I am tuned in.

    Check out this radar loop. Notice the extreme band stretches from W&N of Hartford, N&W of Worcester all the way up to Manchester, NH or so. Then there is a big lull area, almost some holes, and then strong echoes in the Boston area stretching SoutWestward.
    It looks to me like the Western one will continue, while a new one (Stronger?) continues to develop over boston and SE while in the middle is the SCREW ZONE.

    https://radblast.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/radar/WUNIDS_map?station=BOX&brand=wui&num=10&delay=15&type=N0R&frame=0&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&showstorms=0&mapx=400&mapy=240&centerx=400&centery=240&transx=0&transy=0&showlabels=1&severe=0&rainsnow=0&lightning=Hide&smooth=0&rand=24777581&lat=0&lon=0&label=you

    1. I was just about to post the exact same thing about that intense band that has formed from western CT all the way up to Manchester NH. If you get in one of those bands, you are in the jackpot. The areas in between end up in a snow hole. Hence the wide range in the snow accumulation forecasts. Ryan Hanrahan had a great description of how/why this happens in his blog from last night.

      1. Could you possible post a link to that blog? Many thanks

        I am hoping that the area to the East of the hole picks up and becomes as strong as the Western one. If not, at least we’re into
        decent snow and won’t be screwed, even if not in the jackpot.

        I feel for snow lovers in the in between zone. Ouch.

  141. Not much going on still in Woburn. Actually got really bright outside…light snow just drifting around…minor build ups.

  142. and of course my area is screwed over in terms of snow. Litterally a slice right over me. this is pathetic.

    1. its always to the north or south and this time its freaking both. crappy storm. I wish the south was getting rain.

      1. Agreed. I’ve seen thundersnow a handful of times, but nothing persistent like that. I hope we get some here in Somerville.

    1. It got bright here for a few minutes. Much going on in the atmosphere.
      The storm is just getting going now. Let’s see what happens.

  148. Dave, Here is Ryan’s blog from last night that I posted:

    http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/weather/stories/Snowstorm-Turning-Into-a-Beast-413225603.html

    Key paragraph:

    Where this heavy band sets us things are going to rip but it’s important to note when these bands develop there tends to be bands of downward/sinking motion on either side of them. While some people get crushed other areas can miss out a bit. The haves and the have nots in a snowstorm (if my neighborhood is in a “have not” band I’ll be livid and a supremely unpleasant person to be around tomorrow afternoon). Still, I think even with these “sucker holes” 8 inches of snow is a reasonable lower bound for most locations.

    Fortunately for Ryan, he is getting creamed by that band in West Hartford right now!

  149. I am under that band here Mark that you and JPDave were talking about.
    I could easily see a foot plus where I am with already 9.5 inches on the ground as of 10:30am.

  150. Hello, TK. What say you about the fact that our area (North Reading for me) has had nothing and still basically getting nothing?

  152. 2 bands right now, one inland and one near the coast (not as intense)

    Patience for those in the middle of them. In my opinion, you’ll be in a different world this afternoon.

  153. 7″ in Amherst, 3″ in the last hour, as we have sat under this elongated band that I believed would set up about 30-40 miles east of here.

  154. snowing hard now in East Bridgewater
    wind has picked up too
    No thunder
    30 degrees
    about a 1/2 inch so far

  155. This things hauling.
    I’m not sure the higher amounts verify. I have maybe 3.5 inches. It’s coming down hard but it’s moving so fast it won’t have time to dump the higher amounts. Flows to fast with no blocking. Back edge is already just west of Albany. I’d expect the back edge to be around Worcester about 4-5. At an inch an hour, maybe a total of 10″ give or take. Might eek out a foot unless we get under a band of heavier stuff. Still not a bad little snow storm. Never understood the need for feet of snow. 12″ is manageable for removal, minimal damage, and it’ll be cold enough for it to stick around for awhile.

  156. Looking like CT and west-central MA will be jackpot zones, with an extremely impressive band out there. Definitely a subsidence zone from Lowell-Worcester, where totals will end up lower, then filling in again towards Attleboro. Textbook rapidly deepening winter storm. The frequent thunder/lightning in CT is awesome!

    1. We do what? Rain in Marshfield? Fall in the subsidence zone?
      Flood? Lose Power?
      You can share your frustration with us. 😀

              1. That’s encouraging. I certainly understand that we are hardly into the system, but it feels lighter than expected here in Somerville. Windy but the snow rates are quite low.

              2. Yes and we shall see.

                Honestly, I am not impressed so far. I didn’t need to cancel my Dr. Appointment as I would have been fine.

                Remember, I am not a glass 1/2 empty guy, I am a completely empty glass type of person.
                It takes much to impress me. 😀

    2. Not sure what you are referring to, but when every meteorologist has 10-15 inches in their forecast, and you are told that the most intense part of the storm will be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and it is after 11 a.m. and where you live has still less than a half inch, you start to wonder about the forecast. At least that is where I am coming from.

      2. To be clear, I’m not questioning anyone’s opinion or hinting that they shouldn’t give it.

        Just made a general observation.

        I think everything is evolving. So, I’m expecting the entire eastern third of mass to be blitzed by snow btwn either 12 and 3 or 1 and 4 and if that doesn’t happen, I will join in the same theme.

  161. With all due respect, when channel 7 has me in a 16-20″ zone, that ain’t gonna verify. And since when aren’t we allowed to comment on stuff like this?

            1. Yea, I don’t understand either. It’s opinion, it’s a blog, and it’s just observations in real time. If we can’t comment until everything’s over, what’s the use in a comments section.

                1. Hahah. It isn’t observation. It is criticizing but if it makes you happy, then by all means. In all seriousness, does it really make you happier to bitch as you said rather than just look out the window and enjoy. Not being critical. Just trying to understand the idea.

              2. Whoa wait….you shared an opinion. I shared an opinion. What was that message you told to Matt he’d understand when he got older…..be open to others opinions….not just your own. You can bitch all you want. I was trying to figure out the purpose. We already learned that it does make a difference to address the source.

    2. Keep commenting. I love it.

      btw fwiw, my street was just plowed for the 4th time. All of this to remove
      2-3 inches of snow. Amazing!!!

      1. We have a half inch and live on a side road and three plows just came by. Bad winter so far, so those contractors need to make money somehow. Lots of school superintendents in this area praying right now that it does snow hard this afternoon. Haha. I’m a school committee member and was with the superintendent late yesterday afternoon when he made decision to close. He was hesitant, but when all the neighboring towns closed, he pulled the trigger.

    1. I’m watching. I’m watching!

      The only thing I’ll say is that I KNOW it is evolving and with all of that
      thunder, SOMETHING is going on. I just hope it translates to more intense snow, because except for the wind, so far this has been nothing, even here in Boston.

  163. Morning : the wind seems to be picking up in the city . So far in good shape no heavy ban but I know it’s coming . I’ll update when I can I’ll be here till tomorrow some time . Be safe .

  165. I mean, the sports analogy would be the recent super bowl. Would you have really thought at 28-3 more than halfway through the 3rd quarter, you were going to get THAT outcome.

    1. Hahahaha. What is it they say about great minds. Mine may not be great but I am in great company. Our comments posted exact same time

  166. If we learned nothing on Sunday night other than to not predict before the half, we have learned nothing. With all due respect can we at least wait until the third quarter. 🙂

    2. I was just going to say this blog is reading like the Pats game read last weekend.

      To a rank amateur it appears the band that has dropped 2-3″ per hr is on a line from Worcester to Manchester NH and moving NW to SE.

      1. In all honesty, that band has remained pretty much in the same location all morning. I for one, do not see it moving SE.

        1. To my little eyes it was over Southern Vermont and W Mass earlier. I was watching for snow bands over Stratton and Okemo. Now it is well to the east.

          I hate it when we fight like this 🙂

  167. Logan 11AM Obs Note: vis 1 mile

    Boston, Logan International Airport, MA
    (KBOS) 42.36056N 71.01056W

    Light Snow Fog/Mist and Windy
    29.0 °F
    Last Updated: Feb 9 2017, 10:54 am EST
    Thu, 09 Feb 2017 10:54:00 -0500
    Weather: Light Snow Fog/Mist and Windy
    Temperature: 29.0 °F (-1.7 °C)
    Dewpoint: 26.1 °F (-3.3 °C)
    Relative Humidity: 89 %
    Wind: from the North at 34.5 gusting to 44.9 MPH (30 gusting to 39 KT)
    Wind Chill: 13 F (-11 C)
    Visibility: 1.00 miles
    MSL Pressure: 1001.0 mb
    Altimeter: 29.56 in Hg

    1. Wind around to the NORTH already.
      Wind sustained at 34.5, 1/2 mile under blizzard criteria. Gusts to 45mph.
      So what’s the problem? OH, that little thing called visibility which stands
      at 1 mile as of 11AM.

  168. Thinking TK is referring to the big bands moving up from the south and east. Also the one that will move east from the west.

          1. When you asked,I didn’t see that break away band. I was looking at the Big BLOB sitting off shore.

            Now, this band is showing signs of rotating up this way. How far it gets, I sure don’t know. Wherever it goes, it’s going to DUMP.

  170. The 12z GFS is now blowing up the late weekend system, perhaps ever so slightly northeast of the EURO, but not much.

  171. That band is extending on the I-84 corridor from Hartford down through Danbury along with areas of I-91 north of Harford. Been a while since I have been in a jackpot zone with a storm and looks like today it will happen.

  172. Eric F tweet. Patience people.

    This is why I’m saying #patience for eastern MA peeps. The band provides…the band provides.

  174. That new band east of Hartford that you were referring to Dave is over me now. Pouring snow. 10″ on the ground.

        1. Ah I was thinking you were 10 miles East of Hartford?
          Perhaps that is Manchester?? I think that may have been
          my confusion.

          1. Correct, Manchester where I work is about 10 miles east of Hartford and Coventry is another 10 miles east of that.

  176. 12z GFS drops another 2-4″ of snow across SNE Friday night/Sat AM with the clipper.

    Interior areas of northern CT and west/central MA get 3-6″ from the developing coastal Monday with 1-2 feet in northern NH and Maine. If that thing redevelops a bit earlier……………………………….

  177. There is plenty of time for that Monday system to change and your right if that develops earlier its a whole new ball game.

  179. Blizzard Warning now up for New London Middlesex and southern New Haven counties. Bout time Upton, NY to issue one as blizzard conditions have been going on in those areas for a while now.

  182. Ok…we are really getting it pretty good here in Hingham right now. Moderate to heavy snow with brief whiteouts when the wind really howls. Temp down to 28. Still only about an inch or so here.

  184. Will the 2 big bands merge and envelop nearly the whole state????
    Is that what TK meant by Wait until we see what happens???

  186. 354 comments already! And the storm is just getting heavier. I love it. Anyway, I am estimating we have about 3 and half inches of snow in Sudbury. I haven’t been out so I am just guessing. It’s snowing lightly to moderately – however, w/the exception of a few gusts, it hasn’t been all that windy here. Maybe it’s windier to the east of here? Hoping for some thundersnow – but I have a feeling that would be more to the south and east of here.

    1. Doing some AM radio dxng right now (not much during the daytime but sometimes you pick up a seldom heard station within 200 miles. I can confirm that their are some T Storms out there as I can see and hear the static crashes on the SDR (Software Defined Radio) display. There is also more atmospheric noise than usual due to the snow which can create static buildup on the lines.

      1. So this was really cool. I was watching both the display on the SDR and the real time lightning maps and wow!! The scope on the SDR went wild and a second later the map showed a hit about 20 miles south of me!!

  190. Okay, an hour after TK said wait to see what happens in next 90 minutes. Well, in North Reading, we had heavier snow for about 15 minutes, and now at 12:20, it has let up again and is light to moderate at the most. So far about 1 1/2 inches at the high end. Still waiting and hoping for a thump!

  191. 12 Noon obs from Boston. WInd down a tad. Not sure what that means. Could be temporary. Vis down to 1/2 mile at the airport. Getting there.

  194. Snowing moderately herr in Reading. I mentioned yesterday that I think the heavy bands will be from northern worcester county to NW Middlesex county, all in behold it is doing that. I really hope Merrimack valley gets to these yellow bands, with thr storm bring over by 6 pm, we need to see really have snow soon to get the 12 inches here

  198. Sweet mother….S++ here. Up to 12.5″ now. Just picked up another 1.5″ in the last 30 min so we are snowing at 3″ per hour now.

    We are into that final very heavy band of snow that is pivoting around the back edge of the storm. Probably got another 60-90 min of this left before it tapers to the much lighter stuff.

  200. It feels amazing to go outside. The smell and the feel of the snow on your face is as good as winter gets.

    That being said, getting better, are you peaking out some from under the bed 🙂

  201. Spoke to a friend in Providence just now. Strong winds there. Much more snow than Boston (thus far), and … thundersnow as I was on the phone.

  204. Finally in the heavy snow. ..can’t see to the end of my driveway which is two tenths of a mile long….temp at 21..dp at 20

  206. Perhaps 3.5″ or 4″ in Brookline so far… I have yet to see whiteout conditions or much blowing snow. Looks like heavier snow may be moving in here in a little while. Looking forward to it!

  207. Something really intense heading our way from the northwest just about to cross Route 44 in Berkley

  208. Still super small flakes just blowing around where I am. Would say 2-3″ so far when I grabbed the mail.

    1. Finally a slight pickup in North Reading, but still 3 inches tops on the ground. I waited 90 minutes as TK asked. Come on, thumping, you gotta hit us at some point. PLEASE!

      1. I am opposite…if this busted I would be happy. Guessing it will come soon or later and I will eat my words ha.

  211. Had a nice chat with Jim Cantore down in Plymouth. Super nice guy and he is so amped up about the storm. Showed me the exact spot he was standing during his famous thunder snow video. Made my day!

  214. 1PM in Hingham. Heavy Snow appx vis down to a around 1/4 mile…Blowing and drifting snow. Wind is intense right now. Hard to tell the snow depth with the blowing and drifting but probably around 2 inches. Temp is 26. A few smaller plows have been seen going by the house but that’s about it.

    Will probably have to disconnect by antennas shortly due to static build up on them. Don’t need that to take out my radios or computer.

  221. I’m telling you, you get in one of these bands like I have been in the last 90 min and your snow totals will go up in a HURRY!!

      1. Yes, at this point, it also looks like the yellow(heavier stuff) is diminishing. But I suppose it could change.

  226. Thunder Snow here at about 1:10 while we were eating Lunch.
    2 separate claps.

    Snow Heavy now with vis about 1/4 mile. 😀

  227. House shaking clap of thunder in East Braintree. Total white out conditions and fierce winds – looks like 4 or 5 inches.

  228. Husband ventured out – temp. is 16 degrees, he says. We have 4-1/2 inches of snow now. Snowing moderately and visibility is low.

    2. Mel I feel your pain!! I live in Reading. Seriously we only have about 3 or 4 hours left. Backend is coming fast. Huge snow shadow here

  233. We are still in thr light green echoes herr in Reading. It’s been snowing hard everywhere except the northshoree area!!! Woburn/ Reading getting screwed over. Heavy snow to the south, west, and North but here!! It’s snowing moderate but I want the heavy action. I would say only 3 inches so far herr. Okay rant over

  235. http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar.php?rid=BOX&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=yes

    Watch the two bands the western band and the southeastern band converge on each other like the wide open mouth of a monster about to eat metro Boston

    Western areas are now seeing a tapering of the snowfall rates as we went from about 3″ / hour to 1″ per hour and now very light snow is falling. About a general 12″ out west with some areas far north and west at only 8″ and a few reports of 16″ amounts in southern Hampden County.

  236. Complete whiteout with rumbles of thunder from time to time over the last 45 minutes.

    0 visibility, probably snowing 2-3 inches per hour. Marshfield.

    1. If that verifies, in easternmost Mass, rain ending as a brief band of heavy snow and plenty of wind. What a pattern all of a sudden. There’s another one at hr 168.

  238. Getting hard to measure. Wind coming through woods at top of hill behind our house sounds like a freight train. Lots of drifting. I was going out slider to deck to measure but snow over slider opening at bottom by several inches. How rude 🙂

  240. Reading all of the comments about heavy snow and wind, this is the most depressed I have ever been about a snowstorm — 🙁 🙁 🙁

    1. 17 inches for Boston, about 6 inches for your area. 😀

      I’ll see if I can post later as I can compare last night;s 0Z with today;s 12Z

  243. Whats the science behind this? Lol I am really curious why one area gets shafted while all around is heavy? Any scientific explanation?

  244. Visibility is very limited , wind has picked up big time . 1 flash & 1 boom nothing since . It is crazy here . It was just a matter of time as this thing was not missing .

  246. The 12z Euro is not appropriate viewing for children under 13.

    Between today, Monday, and another one it shows later next week… wow.

    1. I didnt look to0 closely and applied kuchera which we know has been over done on the ECMWF products. Let’s get through this one, then the kicker on Saturday morning, and see where we are synoptically. Lots to play out

        1. Models still look just plain stupid to me beyond 72 but the general idea of multiple periods of disturbed weather over a 15 day period seem about right to me.

          Yes WW, I saw that 954 low in the gulf of maine next Thursday

  248. NOW WE ARE COOKING!!! NEAT WHITE OUTCONDITIONS
    Visibility 1/8 mile or LESS. REALLY CRANKING BIG TIME!!!

    Temp down to 22

  249. 3-5″ in W. Newton immediately north of Pike. The snow is not letting up. Seems to be slowly intensifying and seems on the dry side. Pretty good wind.

  250. I predict the Reading/north shore area gets a good 4-6 inches, maybe even more in the next 2 to 2.5 hrs.

    There’s a bit of pivoting going on with the inland snow band and more is coming up from the S. The eastern third of mass should be solid heavy snow the next 2 hours.

      1. Next 2 hrs ….. Low looks to be around block island ?? As it moves to Nantucket, the whole precip shield shouldn’t move too quickly east. Then, after 4 to 5pm, I think they back edge should progress more rapidly. Until then, green and dark green echoes for all. 🙂

    1. Was looking at lighting map, Tom. Awesome down that way. Glad for you. Except with Sue losing power others may not be far behind.

      1. Indeed …. It’s strange thunder, it’s muffled or rolling thunder, it sounds like a plane’s engine is constantly passing overhead.

  252. Snow starting to lighten up a bit. Last measurement had 13 inches an hour ago. Would not be surprised to add another inch maybe two to get to 15. I am very happy.

  255. Just getting caught up on the storm va blog and chuckling at Vicki’s shout out. I am indeed hiding in (not yet under) bed – my 6 year old son Sammy and I decided to have an all day snuggle festivus/pretend camp out/day in bed. We are watching Harry Potter now. I think this is one of my favorite stormy days of all time – wish he could stay 6 forever!

  256. Interesting note: when I looked at NWS doppler radar from Boston it looks like precip. is over in W. MA. But if you look at the Albany radar it’s still snowing. So, the storm is hardly over yet. I don’t know why it shows up like that. But they say storm will be ending in W. MA around 5 to 6 and closer to 9 p.m. in Boston area. So we have a ways to go. And hoping those in Northern areas get some heavier snow.

  257. Just lost power. Tree limb fell at neighbors house and knocked down the wires. National Grid on scene already and waiting for a tree company. We will

      1. No one was hurt, thank God! Just braves the storm and went to another neighbor’s house as they still have power.

  258. And, 12z Euro drops another 6-12″ across eastern MA and 1-2 feet in NH and ME with the third coastal storm next Thursday.

  261. Thanks for the link Mark. 6 inches for me with that storm as of now with that run.
    13.7 as of 1pm BDL season total now stands at 34.5 inches for the season. Of course its still snowing up there so they will add little more to that. This could finally be the winter where an accumulating snow in October does not have snowfall below normal for the winter. Average snow is 40.5 inches for a winter season

  262. Kane I did not get thunder snow. It was close to me in Wolcott and Prospect. I have never seen that many lightning strikes in a winter storm in my life. Hartford area was the bulls eye for the thunder snow.

  263. Now we are pretty much cooking in North Reading. Not a really heavy band, but we finally have a story here. Praise the Lord. Alleuia! 🙂

    1. Mel –

      So glad for you – reading your posts was breaking my heart! May it be the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI for you!!

      Speaking of which – (WARNING TOTAL CHANGE OF TOPIC MID STORM SO WHW PARTY-FOUL AHEAD)

      Since 1994, NFL teams (regular and post-season) trailing by 25 points or more with nine minutes or less remaining in the 3rd Quarter are 1-458, (.002 winning percentage)

      The only win is the 2016 Super Bowl Champion NE Patriots.

  264. What’s up with this? Major intensification of bands!

    https://radblast.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/radar/WUNIDS_map?station=BOX&brand=wui&num=10&delay=15&type=N0R&frame=0&scale=1.000&noclutter=0&showstorms=0&mapx=400&mapy=240&centerx=400&centery=240&transx=0&transy=0&showlabels=1&severe=0&rainsnow=0&lightning=Hide&smooth=0&rand=24777787&lat=0&lon=0&label=you

    Just watched Harvey. He said Visibility at the Airport was 0.06 mile. WOW!!!!

    It looks it here as well. White out conditions!!! AMAZING!

  266. By the way, the 90 min was not necessarily for any special location, it was to watch the overall evolution. This will deliver.

  267. This storms a bust…. 😉

    Finishing up anytime soon? I’m still trying to get my French visitors from Westborough to the North End and the Bruins game!

  268. Just another hour of this whiteout snow and we’ll be on track for 10″ again. I estimate something like 5-6″ on the ground right now in Wilmington.

  272. Forecast worked out well of 12-18 inches.
    1-3 inches tomorrow night into Sat. will be a dusting compared to this.
    Next week we shall see.

  273. Showing some slowing. I thought this prior and it picked back up. But this has been for a bit. Visibility certainly increased.

  275. Chelmsford now sitting at 6 inches, coming down hard. Picked up close to 3 inches in the last hour.

  276. Sorry folks, no real updates from me today – on shift until 3am or so (yes, a 12-14 hour day). Had about 4″ here in downtown Nashua when I got here around 12:30pm, around 10″ on the west side of Nashua a little while ago according to my boss.

    Looks like 2-4″ from the Saskatchewan Screamer Saturday morning, then who knows what happens Sunday. Euro still keeps trying to beat out the 2015 snow blitz in the span of a week. We’ll see how that works out.

    1. Son runs one of those shifts at least once a week so can sympathize. Nice to be young…..I sure aint any more. Stay safe when driving home. That is the part that worries me the most for those on double shifts.

  279. Still have not gotten into the thump bands, but at least it is heavy now in North Reading! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 5 inches as of 2:45, so that 3 inches in two hours and 15 minutes. Not bad.

  280. Well that escalated quickly. Just measured for the first time since about 12:30 when I had about 3.5.” I’m now at about 8″

  281. Question on the Euro for monday….is this an inland snowstorm only? Marks maps seemed to indicate so, but other comments lead me to believe otherwise….

  282. In Westborough the heavy band has passed and visibility has picked up, I can now see across route 9 to buildings, where I could barely see route 9 1/2 an hour ago.

    2. Sidewalks. If so and I would bet it is a good part of the reason, I totally understand. Kids cannot stand in the middle of Boston streets waiting for buses or walk in them to get to school.

      1. True, I get that. But the accumulating snows will be done by evening. That gives crews the whole rest of the night to get the streets and sidewalks ready for the next day.

        1. If Boston was getting over 2 ft than I could see it, but that will not be the case. This is very manageable.

          1. Boston isn’t suburbia. Narrow streets, tons of streets. Very cold and blustery overnight. I don’t think a big city gets cleared as quickly as small towns. And also, in a big city, the decision, one way or the other needs to be made the day before.

            1. Much rather know today then wait for the morning. You should see the streets around our kids school. Narrow etc.. I have no problem with the decision.

  284. It almost looks like bands are sweeping over the ocean, then curving back in ever so slightly.It is really snowing downtown!

  287. Not going to make a guess right now of how much snow we’ve got here. Blowing and drifting is making a visual approximation impossible. When I go out to shovel later I’ll check several spots. Temp is down to 21 and it looks like one really heavy band is just about on us. Considering that I can only see about 150 feet right now says a lot!! Wild afternoon here.

  288. As the storm races east and winds back from the northwest, I wonder if the orientation of that heavy snow band tilts more vertically from north to south pounding eastern sections for a slightly longer period of time before it finally moves on out. Still no sign of that as this ribbon of snow continues to haul eastward.

    2. Definitely has been tilting less and pivoting, but also sliding east…. watching it closely for an hour now, as it approached and passed us here….

  289. I was just out and cleared walks and drive. Then I took a crap load of measurements.
    I am sorry to say only 7 1/2 inches so far, but it is raining snow Like vis a couple hundred feet is all. IF we can maintain this for 2 more hours, we’ll be up to a foot or more. 😀

  290. To be honest, I won’t be surprised by some delays/cancellations in SE mass tomorrow.

    It’s going to be very windy overnight and quite cold, so the streets even if they are plowed, won’t exactly be down to clear pavement. And our snow isn’t supposed to stop until 7 or 8pm tonight.

  291. This band of heavy snow is strengthening which may be the beginning of what I just mentioned as it converges with the coastal front and as the storm continues to bottom out while moving away.

      1. Just about cleared my area. That was wonderful, but like all good things, it didn’t last long enough.

      2. Yup. Could be the last gasp but suspect that it slows its forward progress temporarily just in time to give Tom one final dumping. Perhaps another couple-few more inches after the serious band passes.

  292. Now on the radar, that behind is Beyond my area, but under the dark green echoes it’s still snowing very hard. 😀

      1. As others would say it’s puking snow here!!!

        I tend to use this map to judge how heavy the snow (or rain) is at any given time. Just my preference. During the snow blitz of 2015 when other radars seemed to indicate that the snow of the South Shore was lighter at the end of the storm this map seemed to me to be more accurate.

        https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/

        I zeroed in on my area and then on the radar I set the opacity about 75% to the right on the slider.

  293. Overall a disappointment for me in North Reading. No thunder snow, no lightning, very little if any of the real heavy bands of snow, and so far around 6-7 inches. I’ll take any snow, however, given the dearth of it so far this winter.

  295. I was just monitoring the radar and watched the darkest green echos slip inside rt. 128 and a few frames later it bounced back 10 miles N^W of rt. 128. Something is up, unless it was just a momentary wobble.

    1. Storm is still intensifying as it continues to race east north east. This phenomenon is not all that uncommon as the storm tries to hang on.

  296. Middlesex County is the clear loser. Most of these readings between 1 and 2:30:

    …MIDDLESEX COUNTY…
    ASHBY 13.5
    PEPPERELL 11.0
    GROTON 7.0
    LITTLETON 6.7
    HOPKINTON 6.0
    LOWELL 5.5
    DRACUT 5.5
    ARLINGTON 5.5
    WILMINGTON 5.3
    CONCORD 5.3
    NORTH READING 5.0
    BURLINGTON 5.0
    WAYLAND 5.0
    WAKEFIELD 4.5
    WESTFORD 4.5
    WALTHAM 4.0
    FRAMINGHAM 3.9
    LEXINGTON 3.8
    EAST ARLINGTON 3.5
    NATICK 3.0
    MELROSE 3.0
    SOMERVILLE 2.6
    TEWKSBURY 2.3
    STOW 1.0

    1. Some of these locations received an additional 4-6 inches of snow since then so not as dismal as those reports would indicate.

      1. I was wondering how they were that low. Thanks, Arod. And I’m giving you a good amount of credit for this storm since it always snows when Arod is in the house 🙂

      2. Agreed, but still far below what Connecticut and Western/Central Mass. saw. Guess we all can’t be winners in every storm. We are often in the jackpot areas, however. North Reading is almost in Essex County.

  298. Continues to be lighter snow. Just under 13 inches is fairest measure I can get of multiple locations. Neighborhood is out with snowblowers. My son in law who has shoveled until now did manage to get the snowblower going. Mac’s mom gave it to Mac after the December 2007 huge storm when she was staying at our home after my FIL passed away. I think she may have done it for me as it was one of the storms I finished shoveling before he got my brother’s 40+ year old snowblower started. Makes me a combination of happy and sad to see it used.

  299. Mark said at 2:31 PM:
    Are you guys happy in northeast MA now!? Looks like you are getting pummeled.

    Reply:
    Yes, getting pummeled in Marblehead! – small snowdrifts everywhere – intermittent roar of gusty winds

    We had light snow to start, then something more melted that left a 1/2 inch crunchy layer under this snow. Now it’s mainly horizontal small dry flakes with occasional gusts of big fat fluffy snowflakes. It almost seems like two kinds of snowstorms. Beverly airport reports winds out of the N and NW. But I wonder if some is coming in off the water.

  301. Well, I learned a new term today from Our friend SAK.

    Saskatchewan Screamer

    And while I was looking it up, learned another new term:

    Manitoba Mauler

    Both are cousins of the Alberta Clipper, except the systems originate in the
    appropriate Province of Canada.

    I hit the LIKE BUTTON!

  303. Just looking at the EUro, GFS and the CMC. MIGHTY interesting times ahead for a big.
    Mighty! We shall see. 😀

  306. This was the wrong storm for my house to bust low since it’s the easy to clean variety. Just watch, when we get some March 5th slopfest I will end up with 6″ of pure cement!

  307. This is NUTS and I do NOT think it is accurate.

    Boston, Logan International Airport, MA
    (KBOS) 42.36056N 71.01056W

    Last Updated: Feb 9 2017, 3:54 pm EST
    Thu, 09 Feb 2017 15:54:00 -0500
    Weather: Heavy Snow Freezing Fog and Breezy
    Temperature: 19.0 °F (-7.2 °C)
    Dewpoint: 17.1 °F (-8.3 °C)
    Relative Humidity: 92 %
    Wind: from the North at 20.7 gusting to 29.9 MPH (18 gusting to 26 KT)
    Wind Chill: 3 F (-16 C)
    Visibility: 0.06 miles
    MSL Pressure:

      1. Visibility of 0.06 miles. The band was long gone. Vis here
        was about 1/2 mile at the time.

        The only way that could have been accurate is if there was tremendous fog. Don’t see it here, perhaps it’s at the airport.
        That vis was NOT from snow I don’t care what anyone says.

  308. Was just out shoveling the back steps for the dog. This snow is NOT easy to move. The top 95% is pure powder bliss, but the bottom 5% is a sloppy wet mess due to the initial warmth at the surface at the beginning. Its gonna be hard to get down to pavement.

      1. Well, day isnt over yet!! But him and I had a little chat last night about it. He agreed to stay in there 🙂

  310. Once that band passed, things are quickly coming to an end, at least for the accumulating snow. I’m right at 12″ in Sharon.

  311. Pounding snow here also. Feel bad for the National Grid guys that are working hard to get our power back on.

  312. **** IMPORTANT NOTES ****

    To the first-time posters, or people that posted before that may be using a different name or email, I am about to approve your comments. I apologize for not getting to this earlier but I was not able to do it from my remote location!

    I have made it safely back to Woods Hill where I remain until tomorrow morning. 🙂

    There are nearly 600 comments here so I am going to put an extra blog post up in the next hour or so to update the storm, look ahead, and clear the slate for new comments!

    There are 6 official stations that have now verified blizzard conditions (3+ consecutive hours of 35MPH or greater winds causing very low visibility due to heavy falling and/or blowing snow).

  313. The pending comments have been approved. Thanks to all of you for your patience and your reports! Please post again so we can say hi!

      1. Cool thanks. Measure 4″ out back but 7″ out front (an hour ago). Using a ruler and with drifts I have no idea how accurate that is.

        1. Dying to see my roof. Neighbors barely have any snow on their roofs…I hope that’s the case with me. Hate roof raking.

          1. I’m in the 9-10 inch range here on the east side of the city. Official measurement will be taken later.

  318. Winding down here. Vis way up, but still snowing. Hope we can eek out a bit more as I think we’ll need it to reach a foot. I will make some extensive measurements after we eat dinner. Looking outside from the house, it appears we have something in the range
    of 10-13 inches or so. I need to verify exactly which it is. The really high totals
    never had a chance today, but it was a fine storm.

    2. Definitely a snow hole up that way. The band did rotate through, but it certainly wasn’t going to fully make up for several hours of subsidence. Disappointing as it is, that’s another very classic element of storms like this.

  321. “Blizzard of 2017”. One of the more impressive storms I’ve ever seen. The amount of thundersnow was at least prolific, if not unprecedented for such a wide swath of our area over so long a time. It’s everything we figured it would be, an event characterized less by final snow totals, although they’re still very solid, than by the snowfall intensity, which was remarkable. Imagine had we had a nice high to the north 😉

  322. One final moderate band developing over the I95 belt before it finally clears Boston within an hour or so.

  323. Even with a foot and a bit roofs are basically bare or certainly to the point where I can see faint outline of shingles. Not that we could rake it anyway.

    Looks basically over here. Fun day but then the last storm we had was equally fun.

    Son made it from Boston museum of science area to Sutton, where I got to play with his son all day, in about 90 minutes. Said traffic and driving was not bad at all.

    Kudos and thanks to everyone who keeps us safe by keeping our roads and sidewalks clear.

    1. That’s the band i was referring to above as it has suddenly has redeveloped over the I95 belt. JPDave is about to be very happy before the storm finally pulls away.

  326. Up here in Plymouth, NH, we actually did pretty well. Looks like 6-8″ of powder. It has stopped now, but significant blowing snow ongoing. Our total was achieved much more gradually than in SNE, with steady light to moderate snow all day after a brief heavy burst at the onset.

  327. I don’t worry about the final amount of snow so much. It doesn’t take away from my awe of watching it unfold. 10 inches, 15 inches. Not a huge difference. If you plan on rolling around in it, it might make a difference, otherwise, it’s just snow. 🙂 It’s all blowing and drifting around anyway so the amounts are uneven whether you have 7, 8, 10, or 326. 😛

    Woburn’s currently under a band that will give another quick inch putting this area at 10+. Reading / North Reading are next.

    1. “It doesn’t take away from the awe of watching it unfold.”

      Can we out those words at the top of every days posts. What a perfectly simple truth.

      Seriously, If you read that multiple times its meaning grows

  328. According to Harvey, there is one final band of 1″/hr. just to the west of Boston to come through shortly then we are DONE!

    1. Yeah. I’m under it. It’s POUNDING snow right now with wind gusts 35-40 MPH here in Woburn. Vis is under 1/4 mile.

  330. 13.25 here. As accurate as I can get in several fairly well protected spots. Lots of blowing and drifting

  332. I was surprised about the winds that been affecting my area.
    hard to get a snowfall amount but I will like to say I have 9-11 inches. Some locations have 4 inches while others have 15.

    1. You wouldn’t know it here. I want to do a last clean up, but it is still snowing too hard. This things is dying a slow death.

  334. Just came in from doing snow removal and that was hell! Snowblower was bogging down with the heavy wet slushy layer on the pavement beneath 16″ of powder. Lots of blowing and drifting too and whichever way I turned the snowblower chute it just blew back in my face! Momentarily makes me second guess why I like snow so much. 🙂

  335. Moderate to heavy band still over my area and it looks like a couple smaller moderate bands just to the west before this all shuts down.

    1. Yup, still a decent one in here in the City that will still have to move past you.
      Snowing about an inch an hour here or close to it. Nothing like earlier today, but still decent snow.

      1. And there seems to be another one right behind that but it looks to be more intense a little bit south of you…might clip me.

  337. That sucks…reminds me of the time back in 82 (the April Blizzard to be exact) and I was living on Beacon Street (about a 1/4 of the way up the hill toward the State House). Anyway my girlfriend at the time decided not to heed the parking restriction warnings and take advantage of the special rate in the Boston Common garage…and yep…a plow came down the street a whacked the whole drivers side of her car.

  338. Ok, I give up and am not going to measure snow any more. Either I am doing it correctly and others BLOW OR I SUCK at this and have no clue how to do it. Let me see, stick in yard stick write down value. Move, stick in yardstick take value. Add em all up and divided by the # of measurements or so I thought. I was all over the neighborhood. Neighbors must have though there goes that asshole again. What the bleep is he doing??? Apparently you have to sprinkle VIAGRA all over the snow then measure.

    I got 12.5 inches as the total snowfall. I hear Logan came in with 14.6

    Hadi, 1 mile from me says anywhere from 14 1/2 to nearly 16.

    WTF. I GIVE UP. Pay no attention to the JP guy…..

    Time for some TV. I’ve had it for one day.

    1. I absolutely adore you….mrs OS is one heck of a lucky lady. I laughed harder with each word until my grandson asked what was wrong with me.

      You are talking to a woman who went out in her bare feet with sweats pulled up past her knees because …..well, just because I could. And you think your neighbors think you are nuts.

  339. There is a lot more snow here in W Newton than I had thought looking out my window.
    Shoveling shows the 7″-14″ prediction to be very good. Most of what I am shoveling is a foot deep.

  340. I just got finished cleaning up. Bout a foot here.
    God I hate cold and snow! No use for it what so ever.

  341. My son just sent me an instagram video of downtown this afternoon during
    the snow blitz. CNN stopped him and asked if they could use the video. COOL!!!

    I could not get a link from Instagram. If i can get one, I’ll post.

    Oh he just sent one. Let’s see if this works.

    https://instagram.com/p/BQTXu4wgCwb

  342. To be honest I am not sure if the measurements are accurate or not. Very difficult imo with the wind. I did about 4 and got roughly an average of about 15. Neighboor came in very close as well.

  343. Looks like a region wide 12-18″ not the 24-27″ that some models snow output produced, but a hell of a lot more than I thought even 36 hours ago. Some of the general ideas I had about this storm came to fruition but generally about 50 miles off in my thinking of where certain features would reveal themselves.

    1. I had to laugh when I saw the ECMWF 7-day snowfall map from the 00z run. 45-53 inches over all of eastern MA between today and next Wednesday. BAHAHAHAHAHA

  344. Hadi, JP Dave, etc. .. You all do the best you can measuring. It’s not easy, and especially in a situation with fairly dry snow being blown around. It is not uncommon at all for snow amounts to vary a few to even several inches over distances of just a few miles.

  345. Don’t forget to check any exhaust vents, etc. I say this as if I am an expert. We have never had that concern until now 🙂

    2. Having radar watched quite a bit today, 11 appears more reasonable for Logan. They just didn’t seem to be under heavy echoes for long stretches.

      1. They verified blizzard criteria for 4 1/2 hours though. I understand it’s not just about snow but 1/4 mile visibility indicated heavy snow for well over 4 hours.

  347. 15.5 at BDL today bringing the season total there to 36.3 inches. They got more snow this winter than I expected and are not just 5.2 inches away from the normal amount of snow for the winter season.
    What is Boston up to for the season

  348. Marshfield, Duxbury and Plymouth have no school tomorrow. I’d assume more to come on the south shore. It’s still snowing lightly and quite windy.

    June 15th …. 🙁 🙂

      1. It will be interesting to see what other towns do.

        I’d tend to think at least a delay to let people dig out in morning light might be coming.

  349. Logan’s snowfall is in the neighborhood of 26-27 inches for the season. Waiting for the official confirmation of today’s.

    Heading out to do snow removal now. My job was just made much easier as my neighbor did the main body of the very long driveway.

      1. Yes. On extremely rare occasions they will do it, but it’s rare enough to be pretty much never. 😛

  350. I just saw a headline from NBC Boston that said
    Massive Snow Storm Slams Boston.
    It did?? Massive? Hyperbole much?

    1. I can’t watch TV news anymore. It is terrible. Honestly, I find all my news through my Twitter feed. Just link right to the stories.

  351. Final North Reading measurement — 10 inches — I’ll take it, but wish we had gotten the thumps, thunder and lightning.

    1. We didn’t have thumps, thunder and lightening either. I would not trade today….but then I wouldn’t trade any day so I am probably not a good barometer.

  352. No school for Silver Lake district. Ran out to the store because I tend to get cabin fever and the roads are packed snow and quite slick.

    1. Man I hate patterns like this. Don’t mind a storm
      every week or two but these blitzes suck. My phone app shows snow everyday but two for the week.

  355. 9-10 inches in groveland…not huget but I’ll take it given the waye winter has gone…underneath todays snow is about 2-3 inches of very compact snow from tuesday/ wednesday…starting to build a nice little snowpack

  360. Back at the StormHQ World Headquarters Compound and measured 13.2″ here.

    Looks like a general 1-4″ late tonight through midday Saturday. Not ready to make a call on the Sunday/Monday system yet.

    After working 50+ hours over the last 4 days, I am off to bed.

  362. 8.2 inches reported in my town of Reading. Lol I got the lowest total out of all eastern Massachusetts ( not counting branstablet and Bristol counties). However Wakefield one town over from me got 13 inches and is the highest snowtotal out of all my county. How can there be a 5 inch difference within a 5 minute drive??. Are the bands really that local

  364. Roads are, as expected, a bit of a mess this morning after the winds kept blowing last night. I can understand why Boston cancelled school today; Brighton is usually on top of things, but today sidewalks are only partially cleared, bus stops haven’t been carved out of snow banks, and it’s just generally sloppy and slick outside.

    Curious to see what the Sunday-Monday storm has to offer!

  365. Kane: the bands can create that big a difference but I think it’s more likely that the drifting snow made both measurements inaccurate by a bit.

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