Take a look at this map.  As you can see, climatology shows us Oklahoma is in the heart of tornado season right now.  The collision of cold air from northern North America and warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and other parts of southern North America can have tragic results.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA

1100 AM EDT FRI MAY 10 2013

…PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY RESULTS INDICATE AN EF0 TORNADO OCCURRED

IN STOUGHTON MA THURSDAY, May 9th…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN TAUNTON MA CONDUCTED A STORM

SURVEY THIS MORNING IN STOUGHTON MA IN NORFOLK COUNTY. RESULTS OF

THE SURVEY INDICATE A HIGH END EF0 TORNADO MOVED THROUGH STOUGHTON

MA ON WASHINGTON STREET THURSDAY AFTERNOON APPROXIMATELY 433 PM.

ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE AN EF0 TORNADO HAS WIND SPEEDS THAT

RANGE FROM 65 TO 85 MPH. MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS WILL BE ISSUED BY

EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.

IT WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE…WHICH CAN BE FOUND AT

WEATHER.GOV/BOX.

$$

NOCERA

Here’s amateur video of a funnel cloud in Stoughton, from Thursday.

It’s Melanoma Monday!  A day set aside by the American Academy of Dermatology, to raise awareness of Melanoma, and how to prevent it.  The most important thing to keep in mind s that there is no such thing as a “healthy” tan.  Sunscreen & sunblock are essential to skin health.  The American Academy of Dermatoligists has a great Melonoma awareness page.  The Melanoma Foundation of New England is also a great resource.  Melanoma survivor Meghan Rothschild (a Pioneer Valley local!) has a great web site, www.survingskin.org.  Protect your skin this summer, and all year long!

Whoa! I almost missed this! You can see the International Space Station TONIGHT (Thursday) over western Massachusetts. At 8:06pm look to the West/Northwest. The ISS will cross the sky to the South/Southeast for 4 minutes!!!  (Thanks to  National Weather Service Boston MA for the heads up!).  CLICK HERE for details on when and where  to look.

It’s the season for severe weather! That’s why we need your help in spotting severe storms. The National Weather Service SkyWarn program is a network of trained storm spotters. This is a very important part of the severe weather tracking process.
If you’re interested in becoming a SkyWarn Spotter, you must attend a SkyWarn training session. These sessions are educational, entertaining and at times, very funny! There are two opportunities to attend SkyWarn training this year in western Massachusetts. The first is on May 1st in Greenfield, at the Greenfield Transportation Center. The second is on May 9th at the Heath Community Center. CLICK HERE for detailed information on the SkyWarn training dates, times & locations.

Here are the latest snowfall totals.  Thanks for your reports at reportit@wwlp.com:

8:00PM:
Buckland  5.0″
Easthampton 5.5″
Holyoke 5.0″
Ware 5.0″
16 Acres 4.0″
Ludlow 4.0″
Montague 5.5″
Southwick 7.0″
Westfield 7.0″

9:00PM:

Tolland 10″
Blandford 8.0″
Southampton 8.0″
Turners Falls 8.0″
Greenfield 7.0″
Northampton 7.5″
Conway 7.0″
Holyoke 7.0″
Montague 7.0″

12Am Saturday
Hampden 13″
Belchertown 12″
Ludlow 13″
Wales 16″
Forest Park 12″
Agawam 10″
Brimfield 14″
Wales 16″
Worthington 12″
Chicopee 11.5″
Wilbraham 13.5″
Longmeadow 16″
Springfield 11″
Egremont 5″
Ware 9″
Russell 15″
East Longmeadow 9″
Granville 24″
Holyoke 10″
Becket 8″
Palmer 12″
Gilbertville  12″
Southwick 16.5″ 
Pelham 13.0″

1:00AM Saturday 
Huntington 18″
West Springfield 13.5″
Holyoke 17″
Chicopee 16.5″
Indian Orchard 12″
Ware 11.5″
Easthampton 17″

Here’s a list of our top six snow storms (plus a few other notable storms) for the Springfield area. These measurements were taken at or near Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.  Many thanks to our pal, and former Westover ARB Chief Meteorologist, Curt Osgood for providing us the data!

  1.  22”     2/28-3/1    1949
2.  20”     2/15-2/16   1958
3.  19.4”  2/5/2001
4.  19”     1/12/2011
5.  18.8    1/7-1/8 1996
6.  17.2″ 3/31-4/1 1997

Blizzard of 1978 (2/6-2/7, 1978)  14.5″
Oct 29-30 2011, snowstorm 12.9″
3/13-3/14 1993, “superstorm” 14.6″

As you can see from the list, it’s pretty tough to get more than 20″ of snow in a single storm in Springfield!   This is part of our reasoning to keep our snow forecast generally under 20″.

#winterstorm22news

Viewer submitted photo by Noel

Take a look outside at the full moon tonight! 

November’s full moon is the “Beaver” moon.   The planet Jupiter and the star Aldebaran will be shining near the moon tonight. 

Enjoy!

Otis, Ma

Some fog is developing, which will limit visibility.  Temperatures are around freezing, and will continue to drop this evening.  Be ready for icy surfaces.  Anything that is wet (and untreated) will freeze overnight.  There will also be slick spots Wednesday morning.

Wednesday’s 7am temperatures will be in the 20s. Plan on a mix of sun & clouds Wednesday.  There will be a breeze from the north.  I expect the afternoon to be brighter than the morning.  High temperatures will be in the upper 30 and low 40s.

We’ll be dry, and chilly for the rest of the week.

The Moday late night computer forecast models are brining our little snow storm just a bit closer to western Massachusetts.  That means there will be just a little more snow in the forecast for Tuesday:

Give yourself some extra time Tuesday morning. I expect light snow to develop around 7am.  This will be occasional LIGHT snow for western Massachusetts.  The steadiest light snow will occur in southern Berkshire and Hampden County.  There are parts of Franklin County & northern Berkshire  that may not see more than flurries.  Generally, we are expecting a coating to 1 inch of snow. Some spots in the hills of Hampden and southern Berkshire County may see over an inch of snow.  Watch out for slippery spots, especially in the morning.  Most of the snow will be over by 5pm.  High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s.