A Wild & Woolly Saturday!
A Wild & Woolly Saturday!
Friday, March 11, 2022 - 8:36 A.M.
A developing area of low pressure will move out of the southern states and into the mid-Atlantic region tonight. The storm center will be moving quickly and deepening rapidly as it tracks across southeastern New England Saturday and into the Canadian Maritimes Saturday night. This system will spread areas of rain and showers into southern New England and snow into central & northern New England Saturday. Where rain is falling , it will change over to snow from northwest to southeast as the precipitation lightens up. The current timetable has this changeover occurring across western Connecticut during the morning hours and across eastern Connecticut in the afternoon, but not reaching Cape Cod until evening (if there is any precipitation left there at that time).
Snowfall accumulations in Connecticut, north & west of Hartford will be between 1”-4”, with the potential for some higher amounts in the far, northwest corner of Litchfield County. Other areas of the state will see less snow - generally between a dusting and an inch or so. Because of the storm’s rapid movement and intensification, a slight shift in the expected storm track at the last minute could result in higher or lower amounts of snow. Having said that, the modeling has been pretty consistent during the past 24-36 hours. Snow amounts will be greater in the Berkshires. 3”-6” amounts look more likely there, with the potential for more than 6” in northern and western portion of that county. More than a foot of snow, with the potential for 18+” exists across some of the Green Mountains in Vermont, White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, Adirondacks of northeastern New York, and northwestern areas of Maine, adjacent to the Candian border.
Winds will shift into the northwest and become strong & gusty, with plummeting temperatures when the rain changes to snow. Gusts over 40 mph are likely, with some gusts to 50+ mph possible by Saturday night, as the storm center deepens to a pressure of about 970 millibars (28.6”) of mercury. Temperatures will drop out of the 40’s, into and through the 30’s, then into the 20’s during Saturday. Low temperatures in the teens and low 20’s Saturday night coupled with the strong wind, will result in wind chill values near or below 0 at times!
The wind will not be as strong Sunday, however it will still be breezy with high temperatures only in the 30’s across parts of southern New England and teens & 20’s up north.
