Cranberry County Magazine is actually part of a secret government experiment where we see if you can bankrupt a website by running the same headline every 5 days. OK, maybe the government isn't involved, but here we go again with another Blizzard!
Let's just hand this to the pros, shall we?
BLIZZARD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
MONDAY EVENING...
* LOCATIONS...Cape Cod and Nantucket.
* ACCUMULATIONS...4 to 6 inches of snow.
* HAZARD TYPES...include moderate to heavy snow, as well as
blowing snow.
* TIMING...spotty light rain this morning becomes steadier and
heavier this afternoon, then transitioning to snow overnight
along with increasing winds by early Monday morning. It is
during these peak winds, that blizzard conditions are possible.
* WINDS...Northwest 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph.
* VISIBILITIES...One quarter mile or less at times.
* IMPACTS...The combination of brief heavy snow and strong winds
may lead to dangerous driving conditions as well as scattered
power outages.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Blizzard Watch means there is a potential for considerable
falling and/or blowing snow with sustained winds or frequent
gusts over 35 mph...with visibilities below one quarter mile...
for at least 3 hours. Whiteout conditions will be possible...
making travel very dangerous. Be prepared to alter any travel
plans.
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Remember, folks.... a Blizzard doesn't necessarily mean that you re getting the Blizzard of '78 with 25 inches of snow. All you need is three hours of heavy snow and some high winds. Buffalo once had a blizzard where it didn't snow at all... the high winds just picked up all the fluffy snow sitting on frozen Lake Erie and blew it into Buffalo.
The coast has more NWS stuff to deal with... and you know they're serious, because they're going CAPS LOCK:
COASTAL FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY
AFTERNOON...
* LOCATION...SALISBURY TO ROCKPORT, NORTH SIDE OF CAPE COD FROM SANDWICH TO
EASTHAM, AND NANTUCKET.
* TIDAL DEPARTURE...1 TO 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE IS POSSIBLE SALISBURY TO
ROCKPORT, AND 2 TO 3 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE NORTH SIDE
OF CAPE COD AND THE NANTUCKET HARBOR AREA.
* TIMING...WITHIN A COUPLE OF HOURS OF THE MONDAY EARLY AFTERNOON HIGH TIDE.
* COASTAL FLOOD IMPACTS...MINOR TO MODERATE COASTAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE
SALISBURY TO ROCKPORT INCLUDING THE PLUM ISLAND AREA AS WELL AS NANTUCKET
HARBOR. MODERATE WITH POCKETS OF MODERATE TO MAJOR COASTAL FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE FROM SANDWICH TO EASTHAM WHERE DAMAGE TO THE MOST VULNERABLE
STRUCTURES ALONG THE IMMEDIATE SHORE AS WELL AS SHORELINE ROAD WASHOUTS ARE
POSSIBLE DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF STORM SURGE AND LARGE BREAKING WAVES.
INUNDATION OF 1 TO 3 FEET IN LOW SPOTS IS POSSIBLE.
* SHORELINE IMPACTS...LARGE WAVES OF 15 TO 20 FEET JUST OFFSHORE WILL LIKELY
CAUSE SIGNIFICANT EROSION OF OCEAN EXPOSED SHORELINES ALONG EASTERN
MASSACHUSETTS. THE EROSION ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF CAPE COD FROM SANDWICH TO
EASTHAM, THE OCEAN SIDE OF CAPE COD FROM TRURO TO CHATHAM, AND THE EAST SIDE
OF NANTUCKET MAY BE SEVERE IN PLACES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR MODERATE OR MAJOR COASTAL
FLOODING. MODERATE COASTAL FLOODING PRODUCES WIDESPREAD FLOODING OF VULNERABLE
SHORE ROADS AND/OR BASEMENTS DUE TO THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM TIDE AND/OR WAVE
ACTION. NUMEROUS ROAD CLOSURES ARE NEEDED. LIVES MAY BE AT RISK FOR PEOPLE WHO
PUT THEMSELVES IN HARMS WAY. ISOLATED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE MAY BE POSSIBLE.
MAJOR COASTAL FLOODING IS CONSIDERED SEVERE ENOUGH TO CAUSE AT LEAST SCATTERED
STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ALONG WITH WIDESPREAD FLOODING OF VULNERABLE SHORE ROADS
AND/OR BASEMENTS. SOME VULNERABLE HOMES WILL BE SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
NUMEROUS ROADS ARE IMPASSABLE...SOME WITH WASHOUTS SEVERE ENOUGH TO BE LIFE-
THREATENING IF ONE ATTEMPTED TO CROSS ON FOOT OR BY VEHICLE. SOME NEIGHBORHOODS
WILL BE ISOLATED. EVACUATION OF SOME NEIGHBORHOODS MAY BE NECESSARY.
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Please note and know that the greatest danger here is for people on north-facing coastlines. This means you:
Hull
Scituate Neck
Fourth Cilff
Brant Rock
Gurnet Point
Manomet
Sandwich
Barnstable Harbor
Dennis
Brewster
Provincetown
Here is a list of Tide Charts that you probably want to have a look at before tomorrow's entertainment.
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The rest of you (meaning the inland and South Coast parts of our reading area, you get:
WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST MONDAY...
* LOCATIONS...include Northern Connecticut, Northern Rhode
Island, and Southeast Massachusetts.
* ACCUMULATIONS...4 to 8 inches of snow.
* HAZARD TYPES...include moderate to heavy snow, as well as
blowing snow.
* TIMING...spotty light snow early this morning will give way to
steady snow later this morning and then heavy at times this
afternoon. Snow may mix with sleet at times later this afternoon
and possibly mixed with freezing drizzle tonight before turning
back to snow Monday morning.
* WINDS...North 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
* VISIBILITIES...One quarter mile or less at times.
* IMPACTS...The combination of sleet and snow will lead to
hazardous driving conditions at times. There is also the low
risk for isolated power outages.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Storm Warning is issued when an average snowfall of
6 inches or more is expected within a 12 hour period...or for
8 inches or more in a 24 hour period. Travel will be slow at best
on well treated surfaces...and quite difficult on untreated
surfaces. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel...keep
an extra flashlight...food...and water in your vehicle in case of
an emergency.
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There's even a HIGH WIND WATCH for the next few days, and a SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT about this morning's snow.
*****************************************************
This NWS chart shows a lot of stuff,but the first three numbers after the town name equal 1) Best Case Scenario, 2) Most Likely Scenario, and 3) Worst Case Scenario
Location At least Likely Potential for >=0.1" >=1" >=2" >=4" >=6" >=8" >=12" >=18"
Boston, MA 6 14 16 100% 100% 100% 100% 93% 79% 35% 0%
Edgartown, MA <1 3 4 92% 77% 43% 10% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Greenfield, MA 10 12 15 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 46% 0%
Hartford, CT 3 4 10 100% 100% 99% 83% 48% 27% 0% 0%
Hyannis, MA <1 4 6 93% 83% 67% 34% 12% 0% 0% 0%
Nantucket, MA 2 4 5 100% 100% 88% 23% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Newport, RI 0 1 5 77% 56% 42% 21% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Plympton, MA 1 6 11 95% 89% 83% 60% 41% 27% 1% 0%
Providence, RI 2 6 11 100% 98% 93% 78% 48% 33% 4% 0%
Springfield, MA 5 8 12 100% 100% 100% 99% 83% 49% 10% 0%
Taunton, MA 2 7 11 99% 96% 89% 75% 46% 31% 3% 0%
Westerly, RI 0 2 5 81% 63% 43% 18% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Worcester, MA 8 12 16 100% 100% 100% 100% 99% 88% 42% 0%
This is a dangerous storm, and it looks like fun for both commutes Monday.
It may start of as rain, but don't fall for that. It'll switch over soon enough, and the roads will be treacherous.
I'm considering going in to work 24 hours early and just hanging around. I barely made it over the Bourne Bridge in my junker Dodge during the blizzard last week. I had to resort to Tacking, a sailing method that involves repeatedly aiming your bow in different directions to do the seemingly-impossible move of sailing into the wind. I don't know Why it worked, only That it worked.
This feat was more impressive because:
1) I wasn't in a sailboat.
2) Tacking isn't designed to move Uphill.
3) Even if it was, I wasn't on water. Well, technically I was, but you know what I mean.
4) Cars, which aren't designed to cut through the surface of an ocean, don't have bows.
5) I don't know how to sail.
6) "I was on a 25 yard wide suspended plank looking at a 200 foot fall into a coastal river in February" was my worst case scenario.
7) My second worst case scenario was to just roll back down the bridge, in the wrong lane, then try to do an Elwood Blues-style sudden spin where I ended up in the heading-onto-the-mainland lane instead of my original heading-on-Cape lane. The fact that my rear window was completely snowed over was very far down on the list of things I was worried about with this move.
8) I was going to instantly shift my focus onto move #7 once I started sliding backwards down the bridge, without a second thought.
It didn't come to that, as Tacking worked. It still took me 5 minutes at 6000 RPMs to get to the top of the Bourne Bridge.
We'll be in the Bourne and Plymouth for this storm. I'm very tempted to hide myself in my sister's house on Duxbury Beach for the high tides, but I have a graveyard shift back in Bourne on Monday night. I'm not trying to repeat 1-8.
In about two days, look for some variation of "You know you're from Massachusetts when someone says 'I wrecked my car in the blizzard,' you say 'Yesterday?" and they say "No, last Thursday" meme to start showing up.
