Stay Put

[jeff]

Strong Nor'easter cranking up off the NE US coast. Snow and winds continue to increase from NYC to Boston as surface low pressure BOMBS off the lower New Jersey coast.

Very strong surface winds with whiteout conditions will be developing from NYC to Boston over the next 2-4 hours. Snowfall rates of 1-3 inches will be possible within heavy snowbands. Winds will increase to sustained 45mph after midnight and to near 50mph over the Cape and SE MA by sunrise. Gust could top 70mph or better over SE MA. Blowing freezing spray, snow, and drifting will make any travel nearly impossible. If you venture out be prepared to be stuck. Stay off the roadways and keep streets open for snow removal operations.

Storm surge flooding will be developing by early Sunday as the by then deep surface low rakes SE New England. Surge flooding and wave action of 30-35 feet will batter the Cape and MA coast through most of Sunday. Surge values of 2-4 feet will be common from north of Boston to Long Island, with locally higher values along the north shore of Cape Cod. Driving winds with freezing spray and blowing snow will produce widespread whiteout conditions along the coast.

If there is a warning for it, it is in effect right now for southern New England. Stay indoors, you need to be where you are going to be for the duration of this storm. DO NOT get stranded on area highways and streets, seek safe WARM shelter.

[jeff]

9mb pressure difference from NE New Jersey to central Long Island based on current obs. Wind coming up quickly over Long Island and the Cape with buoys now showing 40kts+ in gusts off SE MA. Surface low down to 988mb and continues to rapidly deepen E of NE New Jersey and S of Long Island.

PGF will continue to increase with winds really cranking after midnight. Would not be surprised if somebody gusted over 90mph with a couple reports of sustained 70-80mph by early Sunday morning. Severe blowing and drfiting with whiteout conditions in a near continuous ground blizzard.

Hope nobody is out over the open ATL, as they will be in for quite the ride (30-40 feet seas and 50-65kts with gust over 80kts, very heavy feezing spray and zero visibility in S+).

[jeff]

Note:

Storm totals already over 10.0 inches over parts of E and SE MA not counting earlier ocean effect snow north of Boston.

Skywarn is active with reports updating quickly out of MA NWS.

[jeff]

23 mb pressure fall in 12 hours at Belmar NJ. 3.7mb in last hour. Surface low is roughly 45-50 miles ESE of Belmar currently and moving NE.

3-hr pressure falls of 5.4 and 5.1 mb over SE MA.

[jeff]

Getting a few lightening strikes over S New England now with widespread vis less than 1/4th of a mile in S+. Snow totals may be a little low for SE MA where I think somebody could see 35 inches with widespread 2-2.5 feet over most of SE MA including the cape. Noting the temp on Nantucket has risen to 30 in the last hour and is reporting ENE gusting to 34 with blowing freezing spray and moderate snow. Storm surge and beach erosion may also be on the low side.

Boston gusting to 39mph, so no doubt we are getting good drifitng with the powder.

Hurricane wind warnings are in effect, so you should be ready for cat 1 conditions on the wind and surge scales.

[Dave C]

Thanks for the data. This is one awesome storm, we have 7 inches and the winds are gusting to 45 and I'm 20 miles inland from Plymouth Mass.

[jeff]

Note: 88D's showing returning and developing echoes over E Virginia and NJ. You are not done in NYC or NJ. Coastal bomb and potent upper air disturbance approaching from the west should result in filling in over much of NJ through SE NY. DC may pick up anouth 1.0 inch, but based on radar data most of this new development should be to your east.

[jeff]

1100pm obs.

Prize goes to Block Island gusting to 47 and Boston gusting to 44. Heavy snow being reported at most locations with blowing and drifting. Pressure down to 29.63 at the islands and falling rapidly. Winds will cotninue to respond getting above 40mph sustained by midnight at many locations. May start losing power between midnight and 200am along the coast as winds reach toward 60mph in gust.

Radar out of MA showing very heavy snow bands moving NNE toward Boston. Blizzard conditions are developing and will worsen.

[New Englander]

Its getting crazy here in middleboro mass(SE part of the state) just about white out conditions and has been for close to an hour now. The snow is mounting up wicked fast. We have close to 8 or so inches now i would say.

[Dave C]

This is wild, 2 people from Middleboro! I live near the old Junior High school.

[New Englander]

I'm near the stop and shop and all that

[jeff]

Winds now gusting to 74mph over the islands and the Cape. Wave action of 30 feet + in Mass Bay producing a storm surge on the E MA coast. Surge is overrunning the coastline with very high wave wave. Could see some coastal damage from the surge and waves.

Winds have really come up in the last 2-3 hours with gust well over 60 across the Cape. Pressure bottoming around 980mb 40 miles SE of Nantucket and this strong gradient will spread north over E MA this morning. Hurricane force winds will cause widespread power outages and some damage to homes and buildings. Would not be surprised if some gust to 90 or better.

Very heavy snow band with hourly totals approaching 3-5 inches currently over SE MA from the south side of Boston to the E tip of Long Island. This band will gradually progress SSE through the morning and be over the cape by late morning. Blizzard conditions will continue across all of southern and eastern New England through midday. Some reports of drifts upwards of 6-10 feet and this will only worsen with the winds increasing some. Highest snow total so far was about 26. 0 inches out over the Cape.

[Dave C]

Latest disc. from NWS mentions upper-low trying to capture surface low, this may prolong the snow south of Boston and allow ocean enhancement to continue into tonite.