Milk and bread. And coffee.

Store shelves in Stafford, Virginia this morning, 1/22/2016

A colleague of mine who lives in D.C. realized this morning that she had no food at all at home, “not even milk or coffee,” she exclaimed in surprise. You have to smile at that. Isn’t “milk and bread” the gold standard? I mean, I’m pretty sure you can live without coffee. Upon grasping the full extent of her coffee-less existence, she jumped on the subway (Metro) to go to the nearest supermarket to stock up, only to find herself in a scrum of humanity, scrambling for the last loaves on the shelf. Actually, bread had long gone. I think she was relegated to cereal and canned sardines. And forget about flashlights and batteries. Once she got back home (and keep in mind the transit system was shutting down at noon), I gave her an earful about being so utterly unprepared for inclement weather. It didn't matter. Although I was dishing out one of my best, holier-than-thou, New Englanders-know-better lectures, it soon became clear I’d lost her attention. Snow was already falling, and even over the phone I could tell she was mesmerized at the sight.

What will this weekend bring around here? Regardless of all the hype (about points well south of Amherst), it seems likely we won’t see much snow – if any - around here. Still, it’s worth mentioning that this storm has got everyone guessing. The storm track margin of error (as of a few hours ago) was +/- 100 miles! And a difference of just 30-50 miles can make all the difference between heavier snow and stronger winds further north versus a much lighter snowfall and strong to damaging winds remaining in Southeast New England. Right now, it looks like in Southern New England, South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island stand the greatest risk of highest snowfall totals with areas south of the Mass Pike still at risk for some accumulating snow. A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Saturday Morning through Sunday Morning for South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island including Cape Cod and the Islands for 4-7" of snow and strong winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 55 MPH.

Around the Pioneer Valley and Amherst, we will be getting a dusting to 1” if the models keep the track on a more southerly course. And possibly a little more than that (maybe 3”?) if the models trend northward.

Now off to the store to pick up some milk and bread. And coffee. Just because.