Tale of Two Towns (in Western MA)

North Amherst - 9 am, March 14 (2" of snow)
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

Hawley, MA - 7 am (first photo), 11 am (second photo)
Photos by Brittany Wolcott

Tale of two Western MA towns this morning:

- Photo 1: The view from North Amherst, where 2 inches of snow is bending branches to the ground (this does not bode well, though power is still humming at 9 am). And it continues to snow...

- Photo 2: Sent at 7:00 a.m. from "that friend in a hill town who always reports blockbuster amounts," (Brittany Wolcott, actually in Hawley, who is giddy with excitement even though they've been without power since 2 am).

UPDATE at 11:00 AM from Brittany in Hawley (see yardstick photo #3, just added)!

UPDATE 11:11 AM - Power here in N. Amherst went out briefly for about 4 seconds. I am envisioning local folks suddenly lurching for their charging stations.

UPDATE 12:45 PM - Temp has climbed to 34.3 F in North Amherst, just high enough to melt the snow off most power lines (thankfully before the second wave of snow, along with wind, this afternoon and evening). After a late morning lull, the snow has picked up again.

UPDATE 12:45 PM - Temp has climbed to 34.3 F in North Amherst, just high enough to melt the snow off most power lines (thankfully before the second wave of snow, along with wind arrives this afternoon and evening). After a late morning lull, the snow has picked up again.

UPDATE 5:00 PM - Snow resumed early afternoon, now snowing steadily, with the temp dropping incrementally - it now stands at 32.9 F. Hard to gauge the total snowfall, as we had midday melting. Maybe about 3 inches altogether, with more like 2 inches still on the ground. Looks like we may well end up where the forecast predicted, in the 2-6 inch zone.

UPDATE 8:33 PM - Friend in Hawley just measured 35" of snow. Still no power. She has taken refuge for the night with family members who have a generator!

UPDATE 5:00 PM, Next Day (March 15): Friend in Hawley, at 1,000 feet, has 36+ inches of snow on the ground (drifts make it hard to tell exactly how much), and they just got their power back. In North Amherst, there's 1-2 inches of snow still on the ground (with some melting today). I was hoping for warmer and more thorough melting, but temps hung around 35 F, meaning the heavy/wet ground cover lingers.