FXWX

Lol... Just referencing a huge local event that if I could go back in time would have loved to experience... Obviously not one I was around to enjoy... Although, growing up in south-central CT, that area would have been just north of some of the monster totals across parts of srn CT. Actual winter storm memories for me don't kick in until late 60's...

Mar. 1888, Feb. 69 (Lindsey Day storm; personal favorite since I had just had NWS teletype data drop line installed at my house), Feb. 78, Feb. 83, Feb. 13

I hear ya Will... I fully understand the scientific / meteorological rush and excitement of following the development of a powerful, and yes dangerous, storm event. And there is no doubt that our desire to study the mechanics of their development has lead tremendous advancement in our ability to predict them. And most importantly, has saved and will continue to save, thousands of lives. I also know no one on here is truly rooting for death and destruction. In my old age, I find myself still excited about the prospect of forecasting a major / life-threatening event, but at the same time more worried about everyone's well-being than I used to be. I'm going to date myself here, but the first dead body I ever saw was that of a women stuck under debris in the Farmington River in Unionville, CT during the 1955 flood! I never shook that image. That event, as tragic as it was, lead to tremendous advancement in river flow control and flood mitigation across the Farmington river watershed. So, a lot of bad occurred, but significant good followed.

Yep

You always have to be careful about you wish for when it comes to damaging storms... Folks love to rant about damaging wind events and wish they were more intense and widespread across SNE... But there can be tragic human consequences like last week when we had an infant killed by a falling tree during last Friday's strong winds. The older I get, with older children and grandchildren, the more I think about the other side of the exciting weather coin.

I agree... Just busting given the tendency for folks (including myself) to never expand the storm gaze away from their backyard. I have a nephew that lives south of KC KS. He always complains to he's never that close to svr wx! Mind you, he's called me twice from his basement when tornadoes were within 3 miles... Lol

It's always MBY only storms. I guess the Jan. 2022 eastern Mass blizzard would also not qualify...

Yep... After such a boring winter, for most in SNE, this event, strong & bitter cold, was kinda neat to experience...

-13.4 here.. pretty uniform once above 1,000'

-6 here in Burlington with a light coating of snow. Couple of DPW crews out treating in a couple of towns...

There is a tremendous amount of coordination that takes place between NWS, private sector mets, towns and school districts during events like this... Very strongly worded discussions have been distributed by NWS folks in all the warning and advisory areas. But there is only so much you can do. In the end, if comes down to parental guidance and the willingness of the folks to heed the advise. Elementary kids usually are actually pretty well prepared by the parents; high school kids are a whole different animal. The Boston situation (lots of walkers) is all predicated on the timing of the true arctic air arrival & increasing wind speeds; the morning is no big deal, but the elementary kids head home in the 3:30 to 4:30 pm period and by then it is going to be nasty. They are trying to protect the mid / late afternoon period.

Exactly...

Actually, many of my heating fuel clients watch those numbers (wintertime mins) with far more interest than they do daily maxes. They see the trend!

Given a full warning in place, most districts would be wary of bucking the strong wording in the warning. Opens the door for criticism if something bad happens...

Overnight mins have been the story for several winters now... Used to be very common to fall into low to mid teens years ago... Now it's a challenge for consistent overnight lows in the teens across SNE...

Agree... I would be recommending cancelations up north...

Agree

I deal with lots of CT districts and the morning numbers Friday are driving the decision not to cancel. I think across northern New England it should be an easy cancelation call. As for the afternoon period, unless they have lots of walkers the concern is not high. But there are some large city districts that are contemplating it given the number of walkers. The afternoon bus deal is a drop off and quick short walk into your house or a waiting car. Mornings that feature kids standing around for a bus to arrive is are different story. If Saturday was a school day, lots of delays and closures would be in play for CT.

It has been stated a few times already, but it was just a constant mild day after mild day setup. Nothing excessively warm, but always above normal. Many Januarys feature a thaw period with max temps that beat anything we saw this past January. BDL has a top January 2023 temp of 56... Most good old fashioned January thaws would beat that...

At least in CT, my advice has been no need for cancelling or delaying. Friday will start out a a pretty "normal" bitter cold morning with temps in the teens so there is no need delay. In a normal winter we would usually experience quite a few mornings like Friday. There should be no concern for buses not starting. Also the vast majority of students do not walk so the potential for any widespread issues after school during the afternoon as the temps fall and wind chills ramp is limited. Email Notices always go out about proper clothing for families with walkers. If Saturday was a school day there would likely be consideration for delays. Unless we are dealing with a true Wind Chill Warning with chill numbers minus 20 or lower cancellations are hard to sell...

Here's my street after that storm...

3.0 here in Burlington at ~1,100 ft

33 here at 1100 ft in Burlington; roads covered...

Some Litchfield County districts have decided to close given uncertainty about trying to have early dismissals during the transition period, as well as the most active snow period. Local DPW crews want no part of trying to work around bus routes during late morning to mid-afternoon period. Many times it is not about how much is going to fall; almost always about timing.

Variety of items are allowing or allowed this to occur; moist / damp near surface air layer; no meaningful drying late yesterday or overnight; apparent condensation frost / dew on some roads; hard to detect drizzle / light rain producing processes and borderline cold road surfaces? Tremendous variations in road surfaces across relatively short distances which gave many drivers a false sense of security... Last night's RGEM did suggest some possible troubles, but had literally no other model support...