Winter storm approaching, over a foot likely for many

COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON OVER THE LAST 24 TO 36 HOURS, INCLUDING THIS MORNING. AND NOW WE’RE LOOKING AT A SIGNIFICANT SNOW STORM MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE AREA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON, AND THE HEAVIEST OF WHICH WILL BE LATER THIS AFTERNOON. AND TONIGHT WE’RE HERE WITH TEAM COVERAGE FOR YOU THROUGHOUT THE DAY. TODAY YOU WILL NOTICE EARLY THIS MORNING. YES, AS COLD AS 20 BELOW IN PARTS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY, WHILE FOR SOUTHERN AREAS OF THE STATE WE’RE IN THE LOWER SINGLE DIGITS. SO SNOW WILL PILE UP QUICKLY STARTING THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH THIS EVENING. AND AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE VERY FLUFFY NATURE OF THIS SNOW, IT WILL PILE UP VERY FAST. TEMPERATURES ARE ONLY GOING TO BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS TO LOWER TEENS, AS A LOT OF THIS COMES DOWN, THAT IS A VERY DRY SNOW, WHICH AGAIN, A LOT FLAKIER AND WILL JUST PILE UP RATHER RAPIDLY. THIS IS EXPECTED TO BE SOME VERY DIFFICULT TRAVEL BECAUSE OF THE SNOWFALL RATES. AS WE GET LATER INTO THIS AFTERNOON. THIS EVENING, THERE IS GOING TO BE A WINDOW OF TIME FROM, LET’S SAY, 4 OR 5:00 THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH ABOUT MIDNIGHT, 2 A.M. WE’RE STILL FALL. RATES COULD BE OVER TWO INCHES PER HOUR. THAT IS JUST VERY DIFFICULT FOR CREWS, EVEN AT FULL GO AND FULL STAFF, TO REALLY BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THIS ON THEIR ROUTES LATER ON THIS EVENING. SO AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE TO TRAVEL AFTER 4 OR 5, 6:00 TO A NECESSARY JOB TONIGHT, JUST FACTOR IN A LOT OF EXTRA TIME IF YOU HAVE TO DO SO NOW THE CLOUDS WILL BE TAKING OVER NOW AND THAT IS ACTUALLY KIND OF STUNTED TEMPERATURES FROM GOING TO THE LEVELS THEY PROBABLY COULD HAVE. AND THIS IS A CLASSIC STORM MAKING ITS WAY NORTHWARD. WE ARE EASILY ON THE VERY COLD SIDE OF THIS SYSTEM, SO NO MIXING EXPECTED OUT OF IT. TEMPERATURES LOWER SINGLE DIGITS EITHER SIDE OF ZERO. ACTUALLY, WHILE WE’RE IN THE TEENS BELOW ZERO NORTH OF THE NOTCHES. FIRST THING THIS MORNING. HERE’S THE KEY. VERY DRY AIR IN PLACE. GOING TO TAKE A WHILE. EVEN THOUGH THE RADAR MAY INDICATE SNOW RIGHT OVERHEAD, IT MAY TAKE A FEW HOURS FOR IT TO REALLY GET GOING, BUT ONCE IT DOES, WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND LOWER TEENS AGAIN, IT IS GOING TO PILE UP QUICKLY AND YOU CAN SEE ARRIVAL. WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR SEVERAL DAYS. EITHER SIDE OF MIDDAY ROADS WILL NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AWFUL WHEN IT STARTS, BUT AGAIN, AS WE GRADUALLY GO THROUGH TIME, WE ARE TALKING THOSE SNOWFALL RATES THROUGH ABOUT MIDNIGHT 2 A.M. OVER TWO INCHES PER HOUR. NOTICE TOMORROW, THOUGH, A GENERAL LIGHTER SNOW, A SOLID 75% OF OUR ACCUMULATION THAT WE’RE EXPECTING WILL LIKELY BE THROUGH MIDNIGHT 2 A.M. AND THEN A LIGHTER VERSION OF THAT WITH STILL SOME SLOWER TRAVEL FOR TOMORROW. FOR HOW IT ALL BREAKS DOWN, LET’S HEAD OVER TO METEOROLOGIST MATT HOENIG. YEAH, KEVIN, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS STORM IS PROBABLY GOING TO WIND UP BEING THE BIGGEST IN TERMS OF SNOW TOTALS WE’VE SEEN IN JUST THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WE SWITCH OVER TO WEATHER TWO HERE SO WE CAN SHOW YOU THE LATEST SNOWFALL FORECAST COMING IN. WE’RE STILL LOOKING AT A WIDESPREAD FOOT TO FOOT AND A HALF OF SNOW FOR MANY OF US. ALTHOUGH FAR SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE WILL LIKELY WIND UP GETTING A BIT MORE THAN THAT LOCALLY, UPWARDS OF TWO FEET IN EXTREME SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE. THIS INCLUDES THE SEACOAST BACK THROUGH LOWER SECTIONS OF THE MERRIMACK VALLEY AND NOW EVEN INCLUDING SOME SECTIONS OF THE MONADNOCK REGION. WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW THE SNOW KIND OF ADDS UP HERE GOING FORWARD TODAY IN JAFFREY. NOTHING ON THE GROUND AT 10 A.M. BY 3 P.M. ALREADY A COUPLE OF FLUFFY INCHES. BUT LOOK AT THIS LATE AFTERNOON EARLY EVENING IN ABOUT A FIVE HOUR WINDOW, WE JUMP UP CLOSE TO A FOOT OF SNOW IN JAFFREY BY 8:00. AND AGAIN, AS KEVIN MENTIONED, MOST OF IT FALLING DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS OF TOMORROW MORNING SO THAT BY THE TIME YOU WAKE UP EARLY ON MONDAY, THERE COULD ALREADY BE CLOSE TO A FOOT AND A HALF OF SNOW ON THE GROUND IN JAFFREY. A SIMILAR TIMELINE FOR THE SEACOAST. REMEMBER, THIS IS A VERY LIGHT, FLUFFY SNOW, SO IT PILES UP VERY QUICKLY AT A RATE OF AT TIMES OVER TWO INCHES PER HOUR. NOW AN IMPORTANT NOTE HERE FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE LAKES REGION. THIS IS HOW IT ADDS UP IN LACONIA. YEAH, THERE MAY BE SHY OF A FOOT OF SNOW ON THE GROUND EARLY TOMORROW, BUT THE SNOW IS PRETTY PERSISTENT ON MONDAY, SO THERE STILL COULD BE A FEW ADDITIONAL INCHES TO COME DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS AND THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. SO WITH THIS BEING A LONG DURATION EVENT, IT CERTAINLY WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO ACHIEVE SOME OF THESE FOOT TO FOOT AND A HALF TOTALS THROUGH CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PARTS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT TO EXPECT BY MONDAY EVENING AND GOING FORWARD, WE’LL SEND YOU BACK OVER TO KEVIN. YEAH. SO BOTTOM LINE IS, THE HEAVIEST PORTION OF THIS STORM SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. TONIGHT AND THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS. AND FROM THERE, SOME LINGERING LIGHTER SNOW THAT WILL ADD UP TO SEVERAL ADDITIONAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATION, BUT WILL CERTAINLY A SOLID 75% OF THIS WILL HAPPEN THROUGH THE PRE-DAWN HOURS. KIND OF A REALLY HEAVY DUMP OF SNOW, ALONG WITH THE VERY FLUFFY NATURE TO IT. AS FAR AS THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST, SNOW IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE ANYTIME SOON. HIGHS TEENS TO LOWER 20S. THOSE OVERNIGHT LOWS WITH THE FRESH SNOW ON THE GROUND ALSO IN THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE AND BELOW ZERO GOING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK, BUT STORM FRE