Summary
This article originally appeared on Opensnow.com by Sam Webber and Lauren McCarthy.
Low pressure tracking over New England today will cause snow to fall throughout the day, leaving skiers and riders with continuous powder runs. The low departs the region through the overnight hours, leaving a blast of cold air and upslope snow showers in its wake. Models currently suggest that high pressure will hold in place throughout the weekend.
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Short Term Forecast
Good morning, everybody and happy snow day! Snow is currently falling across eastern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire and its accumulating rather quickly. Here is a look at the current radar imagery:
Radar image loop courtesy of Intellicast
Low pressure traverses across New Hampshire into the Gulf of Maine today, bringing plenty of snowfall through the morning hours. If you’re looking for some serious powder turns today, the White Mountains will be the place to be! Current runs of the ECMWF and the NAM show moderate to heavy snow falling into the afternoon hours, leaving the Whites with 6-8 inches by last chair! Mountains in central Vermont will also fare pretty well through the day, as models are suggesting up to 6 inches by the end of the ski day. For resorts in southern and northern Vermont, as well as western Maine, snow accumulations will fall in the range of 3-5 inches. Here is the latest solution for the storm from the NAM:
SLP and precipitation type loop courtesy of College of DuPage
As the low progresses over New England during the morning hours, winds will remain light and variable with summit temperatures lingering in the mid-upper 20s. As the storm continues to work its way into the Gulf of Maine, summit winds will intensify to 30-40 mph for some resorts in Vermont and central New Hampshire by the afternoon hours. Resorts in Maine will experience similar temperatures but weaker summit winds as the center of the upper level low lingers near the coast.
While the low departs from the Northeast on Thursday, strong northwesterly winds and a blast of cold air will spark upslope snow showers all across the region. Summit wind speeds will remain around 25-30 mph with temperatures dropping into the mid-lower teens. Resorts throughout Vermont and the White Mountains could see and additional 2-4 inches by the end of the day. Grab your favorite board or pair of skis, because there will be powder stashes galore!
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Extended Forecast
Upslope snow showers begin to taper off during the early morning hours on Friday. It is likely that many resorts in northern New England will wake up to another 1-2” of fresh snow on Friday morning on top of existing accumulations. Friday will definitely be an epic day with respect to snow conditions! However, very cold temperatures and elevated winds are also in store for Friday. Summit high temperatures will likely not exceed the single digits during the day time hours, and 20-30 mph wind gusts will bring the wind chill temperature below 0℉. High pressure continues to build over our region into Saturday, bringing another cold but mostly sunny day. High temperatures will remain in the single digits at summit elevations and lower teens at base elevations. Here is a look at the forecasted temperatures for around summit elevations on
Friday-Saturday:
850mb temperature loop courtesy of College of DuPage
There is still some uncertainty in the forecast for the rest of the weekend, specifically regarding a low pressure system set to track to the east along the New England coast. Current runs of the ECMWF and the GFS suggest that high pressure will persist through Sunday, pushing the low to the south of New England and keeping any snow associated with it out of reach of the ski resorts. However, if the low ends up tracking farther north, resorts in Massachusetts could finally get some attention in terms of snow.
Regardless of the track this storm ends up taking, it should track to our east by Monday, giving way to more high pressure for Monday evening into Tuesday. Another low pressure system could pass through by mid next week, but timing is uncertain as of now. We will have more details regarding this along with the weekend forecast in the next few days!
Thanks for reading!
Sam Webber, Plymouth State Graduate Student
Lauren McCarthy, Plymouth State Graduate Student
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