Snowtober, community, and the birth of Head in the Clouds Amherst

Get all your holiday shopping done right here, right now with our beautiful, one-of-a-kind 2019 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar: 
https://headinthecloudsamherst.blogspot.com/2018/10/2019-head-in-clouds-amherst-wall.html

The idea for Head in the Clouds Amherst was born in 2011, in the wake of the “Snowtober” pre-Halloween nor’easter that took Western Massachusetts by surprise, bringing down trees and knocking out power in Amherst and across the region for days. Neighbors with power opened their doors to those without, colleges invited families into their dining halls, local businesses went out of their way to help customers in need, and restaurants and diners were filled with people looking for a hot meal and sharing tales of strife and triumph. The town transformed into a true community. The Head in the Clouds Amherst blog came online one year later as a forum for exploring the intersection between life and weather. Photos have always been a central part of the experience. From wedding fashion photo shoots on a frozen Puffer’s Pond, to clouds reflected in March potholes on Pine Street, to every kind of weather calamity, we’ve watched the seasons, and we’ve watched the people (and very often their pets) who love those seasons.

Our wall calendar made its first appearance in 2014. This is our sixth year of featuring photographs taken by the people who live in and visit our little corner of the world. Each year we strive to find new ways to capture iconic Amherst landmarks, as well as entirely new locations rarely seen by anyone. We are your neighbors and friends - indeed, we’re willing to bet you’ll find at least one name among our 2019 photographers that you recognize: Meg Wright, Joshua Wolfsun, Katherine Mayo, David Sharken, Stephanie O’Keeffe, Eric Heller, Mindy Domb, Isabella Dell’olio, Carol Carson-Leinhart, Megan Dobro, and Elisa Campbell.

The world around us is unpredictable, fierce, awesome, grand, terrible, and heart-achingly beautiful, occasionally all at the same time. This calendar celebrates that experience. 

We hope you’ll join us! 

- Sharon Vardatira, Editor & Photographer

Storm in the forecast (and what are you doing about it?)

This morning in Springfield, Ohio (Photo/Twitter user @GotWxForDays)

So, first, an admission. For the past 10 days (long before notifications about tonight's storm were posted), I've been more than normally obsessed with winter storm prep - which, for me, is saying something. It's also only mid-November, so a little early all things being equal. Was it just because I had some free time on my hands, or was my somewhat singular focus a premonition about this storm or future storms to come? Has anyone else out there been feeling unusually driven to batten down the hatches?

In the meantime, the most recent forecast continues to show widespread accumulating snow and ice for much of interior Southern New England late this afternoon through Friday morning. Locally, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 7 PM this evening to 7 AM Friday morning for Hampden and Hampshire Counties of Massachusetts for 2-4" of snow with isolated amounts to 6" and a coating to two-tenths of an inch of ice. A Winter Weather Advisory is also in effect for Franklin and Western Hampshire Counties of Massachusetts from 7 PM Thursday Evening to 9 AM Friday Morning for 3-6" of snow with isolated higher amounts to 8" and up to one-tenth of an inch of ice. The weight of snow and ice across the area may cause isolated pockets of tree and wire damage and isolated power outages.

As usual, it’s almost always the ice and freezing rain that’s truly problematic. Stay safe – and if you are still catching up on your winter weather prep, here’s a handy guide from the National Weather Service.