New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Forecasters are putting a large swath of the eastern United States on notice for another major winter storm and a possible bomb cyclone.
Several winter weather hazards are expected to impact southern New England Friday into Saturday including 1-2″ of snow, damaging winds, a potential flash freeze, and dangerous wind chills Friday night. Temperatures will reach a “feels like” temperature of -13 degrees for New Bedford. This poses not only a health risk to people and pets but to potential burst water pipes.
US National Weather Service Boston MA photo.
After that weather front passes and we move into Sunday night and Monday morning, the weather patterns are chaotic and we may get anything from light snow to a bomb cyclone. It all hinges on the gulfstream wind pattern and its strength.
A bomb cyclone is a term that describes a storm characterized by heavy precipitation and high winds, that strengthens very fast. You can expect high winds, heavy rains, tree damage, downed power lines, power outages, flooding, tides 2-3 feet above normal, and travel disruptions – which includes flight cancellations, delays, or extreme turbulence.
US National Weather Service Boston MA photo.
The reason why these weather conditions are going to be hard to predict is that temperatures will be bouncing around at 32 degrees. That means a few degrees in one direction means rain, another direction means snow, yet another a wintry mix. What is known for certain is that this is going to make driving conditions extremely hazardous.
If fortune favors us the snowfall amounts will only be 1-3″ and will arrive in New Bedford around 6:00am Monday morning which means a messy commute. With a little luck winds blowing easterly will push the storm out into the Atlantic and we may not experience as much wintry madness. However, if we’re not so lucky and the winds don’t push it out to sea we could experience blizzard-like conditions, greater snowfall amounts, high winds that knock down power lines and trees.
US National Weather Service Boston MA photo.
