No surprise; several hours ago both the Blizzard and Flood Watches were upgraded to Warnings. The window for the Blizzard portion of this round has been adjusted and kicks off Saturday at 7 p.m. and ending on Sunday at 11 a.m… The Flood window now runs from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Winds out of the north at 30-40 mph will bring the potential for gusts upwards of 75 mph. The most popular range for snowfall projections is in the 8”-10” range.
Beyond watch to warning and the tweaks in the timeline, very little has changed which brings me to reinforcing the present conditions. The average untouched patch of ground is 12”-18” deep with the top layer crusted over to the extent that it can support body weight; beneath this crust and atop 4”-8” of ice is a coarse snow. The “touched,” or plow impacted snow is an entirely different animal. These are virtual concrete barriers composed of a culmination of snow, slush, dirt and ice that run about 2’-3’ tall.
Understanding that many are heading this way, while a few are currently swimming against the tide to dodge the hit, these aren’t the typical hot chocolate/find a hill gray days of winter. Conversely, these certainly aren’t the end of days either. This impending round has all the same teeth as the one that kicked off this stretch save for duration and accumulation which is a tick less. The big variable this go around are current conditions combined with the projected numbers will result in a mess to be kind. Finally, save for a blink of an eye on Wednesday when temperatures hit 33, we’re below freezing for the next ten days with a number of slots showing single digits which means what we have and what we get aren’t going anywhere except up.
While this is shaping up as a virtual do over, we’re just as prepared and will no doubt come out the other side. Everyone dependent on delivered fuel, oil and propane, is in fine shape. That said, with lower temperatures slated for a longer duration, mitigating future deliveries will continue to be case-by-case.
As a lifelong resident of the outer Cape I was the third generation to pick up the mantel in the family construction business. In my early twenties, I called the Cape my home on weekends as I spent several years working for a variety of off-Cape commercial construction companies. My site supervision resume includes two supermarkets, two HUD projects, a funeral home and a handful of steel industrial buildings as well as various restaurant and office remodels.