submitted by Meteorologist Jeb Postle
Alerts: The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning from 3 PM tomorrow afternoon through 7PM Sunday Evening for the threat of heavy snow and strong winds leading to hazardous travel conditions.
Overview: A disturbance (Alberta clipper) is currently moving through upper Midwest-Great Lakes today. This disturbance will move into the Mid-Atlantic-northeast by tomorrow morning. As the disturbance moves towards the coast, it will go through a process of cyclogeneis (strengthening). At the same time, a strong ridge of high pressure will set up over the Midwest tomorrow. With the strong storm off the coast of New England and strong ridge of high pressure building to the west, this will allow for a strong pressure gradient to set up over the region. The end result will be strong to damaging winds across the region.
As the coastal storm moves out of the region Sunday afternoon-evening, this along with the strong ridge of high pressure to the west will help funnel in cold arctic air into the region. Expect lows on Sunday and Monday night to be well below zero. Also, daytime high temperatures on Monday may not get out of the single digits.
Forecast Timeline
Total Snowfall: 6-11 inches
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Cold. Low temperature around -8F. Winds from the west-southwest at 5-10 mph.
Saturday, February 14th: Partly cloudy in the morning, then becoming mostly cloudy with snow moving in between 12-3 PM. Snowfall amounts between 1-2”. High temperature around 23F. Winds from the south at 5-10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with periods of moderate to heavy snow. Snowfall amounts between 3-5”. Low temperature around 16F. Light winds from the east-southeast switching to from the north-northeast at 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph.
Sunday, February 15th: Mostly cloudy periods of moderate to heavy snow in the morning, then periods of light snow in the afternoon. Snowfall amounts between 2-4”. High temperature around 16F in the morning, then dropping into around 8F by late afternoon. Winds from the north-northwest at 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph possible.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of light snow, moving out between 4-7PM. , then becoming mostly clear during the overnight. Little to no snowfall expected. Low temperature around -7F. Wind chills ranging between -25 to -30F possible. Winds from the northwest at 15-25 mph, with wind gusts up to 40 mph possible during the evening.
Monday, February 16th: Mostly sunny. Cold. High temperature around 9F. Wind chills around -15 possible. Winds from the west-northwest at 10-15 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Cold. Low temperature around -8F. Winds from the west-northwest at 10-15 mph. Wind chills down to -26F possible.
Impacts: If anyone has any plans or chores tomorrow, make sure to get it down in the morning as the snow is expected to start falling in the afternoon. As the snow falls, it will be light to moderate in the afternoon through early evening. The bands of moderate to heavy snow will move in during the evening through the morning hours on Sunday. This, along with strong wind gusts up to 45 mph will result in whiteout conditions at times. Also, there is a risk of some scattered power outages from the strong wind gusts.
The snow will lighten up during the afternoon. Yet, the winds will remain strong through the evening. This may lead to blowing and drifting snow on roadways. On top of this, The cold weather will make it difficult for the snow to melt on roadways and also for people clean it up outside. Make sure to dress warm, as any exposed skin could be susceptible to frost bite in less than 30 minutes.
Last, the cold temperatures and cold wind chills will linger through Tuesday morning. Make sure to dress warmly during the mornings and avoid long durations outside.
Note: The track of the storm is not set and may change. Any shift in the storm further to the west will result in heavier snowfall amounts, while any shift towards the east will result in less snowfall. If anyone has any weather related questions , feel free to email me at jebril.postle@gmail.com
UPTON DAILY 