Amherst Fire and Ice, 130 Years Ago Today

Main Street, Northampton - March 13, 1888
Great Blizzard of 1888
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
(Courtesy of Forbes Library, Northampton)

For everyone who is shocked and disheartened that more winter weather is headed our way Monday night and Tuesday, consider that it could be much worse. The Great Blizzard of 1888 started on this day that year (March 11th) and continued through March 14th. Across New England, snow drifts were reported to reach second floor windows.

Amherst Town Hall today

In Amherst, to make matters even worse, on the first day of that blizzard (130 years ago today), the Palmer Block in downtown Amherst burned down. Because town meetings had been held in the building, the town acquired the land and built a new Town Hall -- which still serves as our current Town Hall -- in 1889-1890.

Now don't you feel better about whatever disturbances come our way this week? You're welcome.

How much snow fell anyway?

Morning After Snowstorm, North Amherst MA
Photo by S. Vardatira, 3/8/2018

By the ruler, 5.75" of heavy, wet snow is currently on the ground here in North Amherst. So why are we hearing official totals in the 10" to 12" range for Amherst? National Weather Service guidelines for measuring snow take into account several special situations that require a different approach to gauging totals. And yesterday we had one of those special situations. The snow was so wet and heavy that as new snow was falling it was pressing down, condensing, and even melting the snow under it. In a more typical situation, the guideline is to measure snowfall totals using a uniform flat surface, clearing that surface no more than four times in a 24-hour period, measuring the amount of new snow that falls each time, and adding those amounts together. That would not have worked yesterday. For about 4 hours yesterday afternoon, while it was snowing hard (and I wasn't clearing my surface and re-measuring new snowfall), I kept getting the same total as the new, heavy wet snow condensed the snow under it. The only way to get a more accurate reading yesterday was to clear the surface and re-measure more frequently. I did not stick with it enough to offer up an official reading, but that's how this morning's official Amherst reading gets to 10"-12." And this also explains why clearing off your car this morning is so much harder than you would think 6 inches would be.

(Photo I took this morning is further proof this is not just a typical 6 inch snowfall. It's heavy and sticky.)

Bombogenesis Approaches

Winter Storm Riley to Undergo Bombogenesis, Becoming an Intense Nor'easter
With Coastal Flooding, High Winds, Heavy, Wet Snow in the East
The Weather Channel, 3/1/2018

As everyone must be aware by now, a truly classic nor'easter (bombogenesis is the popular term) is going to be impacting southern New England overnight tonight all the way into Saturday. The feed from the Taunton Skywarn office is on overdrive right now. Of course, where you are is going to make a big difference in how you experience this storm. What will happen around Amherst is still something of a close call, with increasing potential for some amount of heavy wet snow. And while two inches of heavy wet snow wouldn't incapacitate us, five inches or more (which currently does seem somewhat unlikely in the Valley) could be a whole different story. This an "expect the best, prepare for worst" situation. Meanwhile, here's an excerpted recap of the coming storm, sent from our local Skywarn office this morning:

"..Powerful and long duration coastal storm will bring the potential for multiple high tide cycles of significant coastal flooding to East Coastal Massachusetts along with the potential for strong to damaging winds, including hurricane force wind gusts, for Cape Cod and the Islands; heavy rainfall that could lead to river and stream flooding; and rain changing to snow with the potential now for significant snow accumulations in portions of interior Southern New England. The potential for heavy snow is a change since the last update...

..A High Wind Warning is now in effect from 10 AM Friday to 10 AM Saturday for Cape Cod and the Islands and Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth Counties of Massachusetts for sustained winds of between 20-50 MPH with gusts to 75 MPH and isolated higher gusts possible. These winds will cause scattered to numerous pockets of tree and wire damage and scattered to numerous power outages..

..A Flood Watch remains in effect for Eastern Massachusetts through Saturday Morning for 1-3 inches of rainfall with isolated higher rainfall amounts of 4". Western portions of the region [including Amherst] were dropped from the Flood Watch as more heavy wet snow is expected in these areas...

..A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Late Tonight through Late Friday Night for Western Franklin, Western Hampshire and Western Hampden Counties of Massachusetts for 4-7" of snow.

...A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Friday Afternoon through Saturday Morning for Worcester and Northern Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts for 2-6" of snow with isolated higher amounts. The heavy wet snow combined with strong winds could cause pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages. These snow totals could be subject to significant revisions..."