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Happy New Year from Vermont’s tallest Mountain.
The 4,393 foot summit of Mount Mansfield bottomed out at -14 January 1, 2009 at sunrise.
Great day to sleep late

It could be worse.. Mount Washington got to -25 with 130 mph.. Ouch

Forecasting weather is some tricky business. When I left work on Monday, it appeared that we would have a little snow Wednesday and a lotta snow Friday Saturday. We new it would be cold, but this cold??

Now we have 10″ new snow at home (south shore MA), and only 7″ since Monday here.
The Friday storm is a bust! The Wednesday storm rearranged the flow enough to keep southern moisture separate from northern energy, thereby cancelling the Nor’Easter. It hurts as a skier to hear, it hurts even more as a meteorologist to say.. I was wrong.

The good news is the temperature by Friday January 2, we will be back in form with 10s and 20s, and much less wind. A bit of snow will fall in the mountains.

The weather Wednesday was perfect for snow making (cold, no wind), that will be the case again into Saturday. The snow stakes at Mt. Mansfield and Mt. Washington both have 30″+. So the bottom line is- Pretty good skiing for the first weekend of 2009.

bytw: NECN Newton MA) picked up 27″ of snow in December (thanks Danielle & Joe), that rivals 1995 for our snowiest December since NECN opened in 1992. My note are back at home base. The mountains have had more than 100″ already!

See Ya on The Slopes, Tim

The snow is cranking across parts of New England- and it will continue to get worse as the afternoon progresses. Currently, the center of this storm is located just off the Jersey shore. In the past 3 hours, we’ve seen 5 mb pressure falls off the coast, and rapid pressure rises in eastern Ohio/western PA behind this system. Within the next few hours, the storm will rapidly intensify, and track just south of New England…

…Increased amounts of moisture will come streaming in off the ocean, feeding into the cold airmass that’s already in place. So expect snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour by midday in parts of central and southern New England, especially near the coast. It’s also worth mentioning that when storms undergo explosive development, there is often a chance of thunder- so a few isolated locations could see some thunder snow around midday.

Eventually, the snow will taper off from west to east throughout the evening- with some snow showers lingering across eastern New England. In terms of accumulations, central VT, central NH, southern ME will see 6″. As you head north, snowfall totals will generally be between 2″ to 5″. In southern New England, this storm will produce a widespread swath of 6″ snowfall. Eastern areas of MA, stretching from the North Shore down to the Cape will see 8″. However, heavier snow bands are expected to develop. Depending on where exactly this occurs, there is the potential for some spots to see close to a foot of snow.

Wind gusts will also be a concern throughout this afternoon and evening, leading up to the ball drop. Sustained winds of 20-30 mph with gusts above 50 mph are likely, approaching 60 mph down on the Cape and Islands. Damage associated with these wind gusts is possible; trees may be blown down, along with power lines, causing numerous power outages. Blowing and drifting snow will create treacherous driving conditions, so if you can, stay off the roadways.

Cold air will continue to stream into the region tonight, as temperatures drop below zero in parts of our North Country to the single digits and teens elsewhere. The combination of the winds and subfreezing temperatures will allow for wind chill values to fall well below zero. Bare skin that is exposed to these types of temperatures could result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. So please bundle up if you’re headed outdoors for a New Year’s Eve celebration- you MUST wear layers- and bring extra blankets. This is a fast moving storm though, so the first day of 2009 will be sunny and dry, but bitterly cold.

What a way to end 2008, right??
Stayed tuned to NECN throughout the day for the latest updates on today’s storm.

Stay safe & Happy New Year!
-Danielle

My Favorite two words- ‘Powder Alert’ at Mount Mansfield Vermont.

The alert shows up on Stowe.com when ever the heavens open up with snow.
Even if I am not there, I get excited. Today though, I am there.. here, in Vermont

The FourRunner Quad opened at 7:30, I made the 7:43 Chair. Not too bad for driving up in the snow from Midnight to 2 AM.
Snow was blowing about 45 mph at the Base, while at the Top of The Quad, it was Less Windy.
The old snow is still 30″ deep, the 6″ of new snow adhered nicely to the old snow thanks to a gradual cooling Monday Night.

I had a Top Ten Ski Morning today.

The Glades below Rimrock were soft with plenty of Knee Shots. Lord, Sunrise, Standard all Great Groomed, with Machine and Natural Hybrid Soft Snow. Lower National, Groomed and soft with Freshies all Morning. I could go on..

So it is winter again.

Not all areas were this snowy, but the trend is for at least a little snow at just about every ski area in the Northeast.
Joe, Danielle, and Mark are handling the hard part. That is forecasting exactly where, when, and how much snow, is expected at your house.

I ‘ll keep you posted from here.

Tim

Due to thaw we reached back for fun stuff from Sugarbush 50th Anniversary a couple weeks back.
Sloshwicking Race for first time since 1983. Thanks to Bob Hennessey for the Video.

First off this morning we dealt with very slippery roadways, with many places picking up a solid coating of snowfall. The snow showers continue in parts of northern VT, NH, and ME right now where they could see another inch or two - good news for ski country!

In the past several hours, we’ve been dealing with very gusty winds out of the northwest.

Numerous damage reports have been coming in, indicating downed power lines, wires, branches and trees. Right after I finished video taping the blog- I received a report of a 30 foot pine tree that fell down on a major power line in Litchfield, CT, knocking out power to half the town. Thankfully, the winds will diminish some as we head into the early evening.

Snow is on the way for tomorrow…and it will be the last storm of 2008, I can promise you that! Again, good news for the snow lovers- but bad news for anyone commuting tomorrow, or heading somewhere for New Year’s Eve celebrations. After looking at the latest models, I did bump up accumulation amounts across southern New England, where there could be a wide area of 6 inches of snowfall tomorrow - and we could see some locally higher amounts.

It’ll be a messy day out there, that’s for sure. It’s a quick moving storm though, so it’s winding down by the early evening. Tomorrow night will be COLD! Temperatures will drop back into the teens and 20s; combine that with gusty winds, and we’re talking about subzero wind chill values. So bundle up!! Check out my video below for more details on your forecast.

Donald Chapelle / Brilliant Ice Sculpture
The Ice Sculpture Artists like this weather, no melting from here to 2009!
If you are out and about, dress in layers. The sky should be clear. We will a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, with temperatures in the teens and single numbers on New Year’s Eve. The wind will be from the northwest 15-25 mph.

It’s pretty quiet in terms of the weather today, but overnight tonight some places are going to see a solid coating of snowfall as a quick moving low pressure system tracks north of New England. No biggie, right?

Tomorrow will feature some sunshine before clouds begin to thicken up by evening. The main story this week is the fast moving clipper that will move through southern New England on New Year’s Eve. Snow will develop by daybreak across western areas, and spread east by midday. We’ll also have to contend with the winds- which could gust over 40 mph - allowing for wind chill values to drop into the single digits. You’ll definitely have to bundle up if you’re headed out for any New Year’s Eve festivities. And incase you’re wondering…we’re keeping a close eye on another potentially significant winter storm for the end of the week and the beginning part of the weekend. There’s never a dull moment here in the weather center! Check out the video here for more details on the forecast.

Celebrate New Year’s Eve Skiing and Dancing to the McMurphy’s at Pat’s Peak New Hampshire

Improving Weather Sunday

Hello Weather Fanatics! You must be if you are here. Good for you! You have come to the right place.
Saturday Morning gets off to a bit of a dicey start. Cold air right at the ground will be slow to retreat…as warmer air tries to push north into New England. This is causing overrunning of warm air over cold air….and thus an approaching warm front and a batch of rain push through during the morning. Precipitation will be ending during the afternoon. Winter weather advisories are up for areas where the cold air is holding strong, especially in hilly and valley locations of Northern & Central New England, for sleet & freezing rain. Though precipitation will be light, it only takes a little bit of ice to become extremely slippery. Already reports of early morning accidents. Beware. The warming SW wind will finally mix down to the ground by afternoon as most areas will climb above freezing into the 30’s and 40’s. As the warmer air moves over the cold snow pack expect areas of dense fog to form tonight as temps remain steady.
Sunday will be just an awesome day frankly. SW winds will pick up ahead of an approaching cold front and pump in unseasonal record warmth into the region. See Tim Kelley’s post below to see the records we will likely be breaking in many spots. Clouds will be breaking too. I expect a mostly dry breezy day with a mix of sun & clouds with temperatures climbing into the lwr to mid 60’s south! Bit cooler north in the 40’s & 50’s…still very nice. Winds will likely start to gust over 30 mph in the afternoon, over 40 Cape & Is, ahead of a cold front which does not look very impressive at this point. It appears the energy splits in two as it crosses New England…one lifts north, the other goes south, and we will be left with a chance of a passing shower Sunday Afternoon…if any at all…despite the record warmth and a transition to cooler temperatures by next week. But cooler does NOT mean cold…for I do not see any Arctic air in this pattern for at least the next week. New Years Eve day…Wednesday the 31st we will be tracking a chance of light accumulating snow. It will not be big storm, but it could deposit a couple of inches in Northern and Central New England. Someting we will be watching.