Winter Storm Euclid Headed Our Way

If you've been caught up in holiday festivities over the past few days, now would be the time to watch the weather more closely. A "winter storm warning" is currently in effect for our local area including interior parts of southern New England from 7 pm this evening to 1 am EST early Friday morning. Named "Winter Storm Euclid" by the Weather Channel, this storm wreaked havoc to the west and south of us yesterday, with snow, ice and sleet over the midwest and an unprecedented number of tornadoes in the south. Exactly how much precipitation we will get as snow in Amherst seems to be a moving target - last night, local estimates had us getting a few inches of snow starting tonight, with precipitation turning over to sleet/freezing rain/rain by tomorrow. As of this morning, the snow accumulations are higher, with forecasts predicting as much as 6 to 10 inches overnight, with a mix of ice, sleet and rain by tomorrow mid-morning as temperatures jump above freezing before dropping back below freezing later tomorrow afternoon and evening. With the temperatures hovering just below and above freezing during this storm, it's easy to see how even a slight shift in either direction could make a big difference in how this plays out. Whatever snow does fall will be heavy and wet, and anything else that comes down on top of that will only make things worse. Of course, the forecast will continue to be refined as we get closer to the main event - and regardless of how much comes down and in what form, it's clear we are in for a major storm, with snow, sleet, wind, ice and rain. Expect hazardous driving conditions tonight into Thursday, high winds (15-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph), and visibilities down to a quarter mile or less in areas of heavy snow.