Monday, December 28, 2015

First Winter Weather Advisory of the Season

Photo by Matt Holiner

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is now in effect from 8 PM Monday evening through 7 PM Tuesday evening for Franklin, Hampshire, Northern Worcester, Central and Northern Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 2-4" of snow with locally higher amounts, and around one-tenth inch of ice accretion with up to one-quarter inch ice accretion in higher terrain locations.

Keep in mind that snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and timing will fluctuate as future model runs get a better handle on these items. It is possible that a prolonged period of freezing rain could develop in any of the advisory areas, and in particular the higher elevations of Western and Northern Massachusetts and northwest Hartford County in Connecticut.

Plan accordingly, people!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Yanked into Winter

First Snow at Cushman Brook, 12/2013
Photo by S. Vardattira

The National Weather Service has posted a “HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK” for Monday night into Tuesday for the Amherst area (as well as Northern Connecticut, all of Massachusetts except Berkshire County, and Rhode Island). This is one of those situations where storm track makes all the difference and there are still a lot of unknowns to consider. On the one hand, our prolonged period of well above-normal temperatures means the ground is not yet frozen in many places. This will make it tough to accumulate snow if the snow doesn’t fall quickly enough. Moreover, with the temperature rising above freezing on Tuesday, the big question (in terms of snowfall amounts) is the extent to which the snow falls while the temperature is still low enough to support snow, and before a dry slot moves in aloft and “deactivates the ice nuclei.” So depending on those and a variety of other factors, conditions could favor snow or more of a wintry mix of sleet or freezing rain.

At present, it seems most likely that the brunt of our snowfall will occur from midnight to 7 am on Tuesday. Then the transition to a wintry mix begins from Connecticut, moving north to our area. This could make for a messy Tuesday morning commute. The Tuesday evening commute should not be as bad, as any lingering precipitation should be in the form of rain at that time. Specific snow and ice accumulations are not yet definitive, but we will probably get at least a few inches of snow overnight from Monday night into Tuesday morning. Of greater concern is the strong likelihood of sleet and possibly freezing rain early Tuesday and Tuesday morning. It takes only a trace of snow and/or ice to make untreated roads slippery. Additional amounts only magnify the impact, but with this kind of event, even light precipitation can be hazardous.

And then, of course, there’s the emotional impact of our being suddenly yanked from our balmy winter into something more… well… like New England in winter.

Oh, yeah, another storm is headed our way for Thursday. What exactly that will turn out to be (snow, rain, mix) is still up in the air. Literally. Pun intended.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Dandelions in December

Dandelions in December, Amherst, MA - 12/26/2015
Photo by Barb Bilz
A smattering of local Amherst dandelion pics are popping up across Facebook, this one taken earlier today by friend of Head in the Clouds Amherst, Barb Bilz. Unbelievably, I've also seen pics of Cherry Blossoms on Cape Cod. All courtesy of our unseasonably warm weather. But don't put away those winter coats just yet. By Monday, temperatures dip down into the 30s (for highs) and something wintry - snow, sleet, freezing rain, and/or possibly a mix of all of the above - comes our way on Tuesday. A few inches of snow, at most, but the potential for a mix of precipitation may keep this interesting. Stay tuned.

After Tuesday, high temps hover in the high 30s /low 40s (still not crazy cold, it should be noted), with no storms in the forecast, at this point anyway, through at least January 9.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

I must go in, the fog is rising...

Farm in fog, 12/10/2015, Amherst, MA
Photo by S. Vardatira

“I must go in, the fog is rising.” 
                                                                                  Emily Dickinson (born 185 years ago today, December 10, 1830)

Saturday, December 5, 2015

December on Puffer's Pond

Geese on Puffer's Pond - 12/5/2015
Photo by S. Vardatira
12:15 pm: Now months removed from the summer's onslaught of swimmers, Puffer's Pond has returned to the waterfowl, as it does every fall and early winter. Although today's sun is pouring down out of a cloudless, blue sky, it is a brisk 40 degrees near the water, not as warm as all that light would suggest. And still, the birds seem unperturbed by the chill in the air. I have noticed that the ducks and geese never co-mingle even though they are only a few hundred feet apart. Right now, the geese are bobbing, almost motionless, where the ducks usually reside, near where Mill River flows into the pond. From a distance, they look like grey/white puff balls balanced on the surface of an slightly fuzzy mirror. The ducks, I assume to avoid the geese, have moved to the southeast corner of the pond near the bridge. They are particularly noisy this morning, complaining about this and that (I imagine about the geese, mostly). A woman with two dogs passes by on the upper walking trail. "Stay... heel... slow down." Her training commands, calm and steady, interrupt the ducks' quacking and flapping. A squirrel scampers, vertically, up a nearby tree trunk, and I head towards home.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Atkins is now carrying the 2016 Head in the Clouds Amherst Calendar!


Keep an eye out for our calendars at Atkins FarmsAmherst Books or Hastings, but call before you go over just to make sure the store has calendars in stock (in the past, stores have tended to run out of calendars by mid-December). Amherst Books is located at the center of downtown Amherst at 8 Main Street. Hastings is also downtown, at 45 South Pleasant Street on the Common. Atkins Farms now has two stores, the flagship store near Hampshire College, at 1150 West St., and Atkins North at 113 Cowls Road in North Amherst. 

Please let us know if any of these stores are out of stock (sometimes they forget to tell us!). And you can always purchase the calendar online right here for speedy delivery. Even better, Amherst residents who want to avoid the shipping and handling cost of purchasing the calendar online are welcome to contact us directly to arrange for separate payment and pickup. 

We promise you will not be disappointed! 

You may contact us directly by sending an email to: 
cloudsamherst [@] gmail [dot] com
The [at] and [dot] are done to keep email addresses from being collected by spammers and harvesting robots. You just have to replace them for [@] and [.] when you write your e-mail..