It now appears that the previously mentioned weak storm will pass well to our south on Saturday night. Therefore, expect partly cloudy and cold conditions with a widespread freeze and low temperatures in the mid 20s for Saturday night.

The following forecast is provided by Jessica Grover and Kathryn Benner, in conjunction with the  instructor, as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: A weak storm and its associated cold front will move through tonight with a band of relatively light rain/showers. The precipitation should be over by 2 am or so and there will be some partial clearing by morning. As the storm moves away and intensifies off the coast a strong pressure gradient will develop between the low and strong Canadian high pressure to our northwest. The resulting strong northwesterly winds will usher in colder than normal temperatures from Friday through Sunday. It will be quite windy on Friday with wind gusts approaching 50 mph over the higher terrain. The cold air aloft and the high sun angle this time of year will combine to create significant environmental instability as well on Friday leading to numerous, predominantly snow, showers popping up over the afternoon. This will be similar to our weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. As high pressure builds in SLOWLY over the weekend it will become progressively more sunny with diminishing winds as the weekend progresses. However, it will remain quite breezy and unseasonably cool over the weekend. A widespread freeze is likely both Friday and Saturday nights. A weak storm will move by to our south on Saturday night. The associated precipitation should stay south of the region but there is the CHANCE that we could see a coating of snow on the ground when we wake up on Sunday.

Thursday Night

Cloudy with a period of rain or showers likely, ending by 2 am. Probability of precipitation (POP) will be greater the further north one goes in the county, with a POP of 80% in North County, 70% in central portions and 60% in South County. Likely rainfall totals from .05 to .25 inches with around .10 likely in most regions.

Low temperatures near 40.

It will be breezy with southerly winds shifting to the northwest as the cold front passes around midnight. Wind speeds 10-20 mph but increasing in velocity towards morning.

Friday

Partly sunny, windy and unseasonably cool. There is the chance of scattered showers of snow and rain in the afternoon. It should be cold enough for snow showers in the higher elevations with a mix of snow and rain in most areas.

High temperatures only in the mid 40s  in Pittsfield and North Adams, upper 40s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and low 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds at 20-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph. Gusts could approach 50 mph in the higher elevations.

Friday Night

Clearing and cold, with widespread freezing temperatures.

Low temperatures in the mid 20s.

Northwest winds 10-20 mph.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, remaining breezy and unseasonably cool. There will be an increase in high clouds late in the afternoon.

High temperature near 50 in Pittsfield and North Adams, with low 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and upper 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds at 10-20 mph diminishing toward evening.

Saturday Night

Increasing cloudiness and cold. There is a chance of a period of light snow. The probability of precipitation will be greatest in South County at 40% decreasing to 30% in central locations and 20% in North County. Any accumulations should be light, with generally a coating to as much as 1″ in South County.

Low temperatures near 30 in South County, upper 20s in central locations and mid 20s in North County.

Winds light and variable.

Sunday

Becoming mostly sunny after some early morning clouds, remaining unseasonably cool.

High temperature in the upper 40s in Pittsfield and North Adams, low 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and mid 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds increasing to 10-20 mph in the afternoon.

It now appears that the rain on Saturday will be delayed slightly and not arrive until late afternoon to early evening so most of the day will be dry and quite mild with temperatures approaching 70 in most locations.

In addition, it appears that the front will stall much closer to Berkshire County than originally anticipated so that showers should continue off and on through Saturday night and into the day on Sunday. The location of the stalled front over the region will also funnel the previously mentioned developing coastal storm right up over the region, giving us a much needed soaking of 3 to as much as 4 inches of rain, with the heavier rain developing Sunday afternoon and continuing into Monday.

The following forecast is provided by Joshua Fleming, in conjunction with the  instructor, as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: We will have one more nice day on Friday as surface high pressure presently centered over the region moves slowly to the east, continuing the fair weather. The warm southwest flow due to the clockwise flow around the high as it moves to our east will result in above normal temperatures as well. Conditions will then deteriorate overnight and into Saturday with the approach of surface low pressure, now over the midwest, and the passage of its trailing cold front during Saturday afternoon. The front will then stall just off the coast and a new low pressure system will develop along the front and move northward along the coast later Sunday night through Monday. We will be on the fringe of this storm’s precipitation field and it is too early to tell how much, if any, rainfall we will receive from this second storm. However, it should remain dry on Sunday in the period between the two storms.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear.

Low temperatures in the low 40s in Pittsfield and North Adams, mid 40s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and near 40 in the hilltowns and in some sheltered valley locations.

Light southwest winds.

Friday

Mostly sunny and warm.

High temperatures in the low to mid 70s  in Pittsfield and North Adams, with mid to upper 70s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and the low 70s in the hilltowns.

Southwest winds at 8-15 mph.

Friday Night

Clear in the evening with an increase in clouds after midnight.

Low temperatures near 50.

Light south winds.

Saturday

Partly sunny in the morning. Mostly cloudy in the afternoon with a band of rain or showers likely moving through during the afternoon. Probability of precipitation 70%. Rainfall totals generally around 0.25 inches.

High temperature in the low to mid 60s in Pittsfield and North Adams, with mid to upper 60s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and low 60s in the hilltowns.

Southwest winds at 5-10 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with rain or showers likely before midnight. Probability of precipitation 60%. Rainfall totals of 0.10 inches possible. Partial clearing towards morning.

Cooler, with low temperatures near 40 in Pittsfield and North Adams, low 40s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and mid to upper 30s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds at 5-10 mph.

Sunday

Partly sunny to mostly cloudy and cooler than the past two days.

High temperature in the mid 50s in Pittsfield and North Adams, upper 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and low 50s in the hilltowns.

North winds at 8-15 mph.

The following forecast is provided by Ginny Akabane as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: The cut-off low which has controlled the weather all week will finally clear out Thursday night, to be replaced by a high pressure center approaching from the west which will give us a bright sunny Friday. Saturday another low pressure system will approach and possibly stall giving us a chance of light rain Saturday night and again late in the day on Sunday. Unfortunately, no good soaking rain is in the foreseeable future.

Friday

A beautiful sunny day with the chance of precipitation around 0%. The high temperature will be in the upper 50’s, near the normal high of 56. Light northwesterly winds, around 10 m.p.h., will bring down cool Canadian air and keep the high from going higher. The barometer will rise with the arrival of the high pressure system.

Friday night

Skies mostly clear, with low temperature in the lower 30’s. The winds become calm overnight, and the chance of rain continues to be 0%.

Saturday

The day begins mostly sunny with northwesterly winds and the chance of rain continuing to be 0%. The skies will cloud up in the afternoon keeping the high for the day in the mid 60’s. As the warm front approaches, the wind will swing to the southwest and the chance of rain will increase to 50% by evening.

Saturday night 

Skies will be overcast with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms bringing up to 1/4 inch of rain, with a higher amount possible in thunderstorms. The low temperature will be around 45 with southerly winds around 10 m.p.h.

Sunday

The day will be mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly sunny in the afternoon with southwesterly winds. The high temperature will be around 70 degrees. The chance of rain will be 50% in the morning decreasing to 20% by evening.

The following forecast is provided by Helen Vanam, in conjunction with the  instructor, as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: A trough of cool air will remain entrenched over the region through Thursday, continuing our mostly cloudy weather with cool northwesterly breezes. However, we will remain relatively dry with only the chance of a shower tomorrow afternoon into tomorrow evening as a minor upper-level disturbance rotates through the base of the trough. The standing wave pattern that we have been in for the past week will finally start to progress eastward Thursday night bringing milder weather in for the end of the week and the weekend.

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy and seasonably cool.

Low temperatures in the mid to upper 30s.

Northwest winds at 5-10 mph.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy and slightly cooler than Tuesday with the chance of a shower in the afternoon. Probability of precipitation 30%. Precipitation amounts with any showers will be less than .10 inches.

High temperatures near 50 in Pittsfield and North Adams, low 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and upper 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds at 8-15 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy and remaining seasonably cool. There is the chance of a shower in the evening. Probability of precipitation 30%. Precipitation amounts with any showers will be less than .10 inches.

Low temperatures in the mid 30s.

Northwest winds at 5-10 mph.

Thursday

Remaining mostly cloudy and cool. Becoming breezy in the afternoon.

High temperature near 50 in Pittsfield and North Adams, low 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and upper 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds increasing to 10-20 mph in the afternoon.

The following forecast is provided by R. Topaz Ross Kelso, in conjunction with the  instructor, as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: We will continue to have cool northwesterly winds for the next several days as we remain squeezed between a storm over the Canadian maritime and a high pressure system to our west. These two surface systems are barely moving due to a highly amplified upper-level (jet stream) flow pattern. In fact the amplified wave will eventually break and the cold upper-level trough just to our east will become “cut-off” from the jet stream. As a result, the storm over the Canadian maritime will circulate counterclockwise around the cut-off upper-level cold pool, and spin back towards us over the weekend. This, unfortunately, will enable its associated cloud shield to spin back over us as well. This will make the slightly below normal temperatures feel even cooler. Fortunately, we should remain dry until Sunday night but then we enter a prolonged period of cool and showery weather as the cut-off low sits and spins over the northeast for a good part of next week.

Thursday Night

Clear and cold.

Low temperatures in the mid 20s.

Light northwesterly winds.

Friday

Mostly sunny and cool.

High temperatures near 50 in Pittsfield and North Adams, low 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and upper 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwesterly winds at 8-15 mph.

Friday Night

Increasing cloudiness before midnight and then mostly cloudy.

Low temperatures in the upper 20s.

Light northwesterly winds.

Saturday

More clouds then sun, breezy and remaining cool.

High temperatures in the upper 40s in Pittsfield and North Adams, near 50 in Great Barrington and Sheffield and mid 40s in the hilltowns.

Northwesterly winds at 10-20 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy.

Low temperatures near 30.

Light northwesterly winds.

Sunday

Partly sunny with a slight chance of rain showers during the afternoon. Probability of precipitation 20%.

High temperatures in the low 50s in Pittsfield and North Adams, mid 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and near 50 in the hilltowns

Northwesterly winds at 5-15 mph.

The following forecast is provided by Alan Havill, in conjunction with the  instructor, as part of lab work for the Introduction to Meteorology course:

Summary: Weather systems passing through the region over the next few days will be weak so we should remain dry through Thursday. A weak warm front will pass through tonight with nothing more than some cloudiness. This will be followed by passage of a cold front on Wednesday afternoon that will bring some cloudiness late in the day with only the slight chance of a brief shower or sprinkle. Following the passage of this front it will turn cooler with a brisk northwest wind. This northwest flow will bring in low level moisture circulating around a strong storm in the Canadian maritime, so we will have a hard time shaking the low clouds on Wednesday night and Thursday. The cool northwest winds and low clouds will make it feel even colder than the thermometer readings on Thursday and will make us long for the warm days of March.

Tuesday Night

Becoming cloudy this evening and remaining mostly cloudy through the night. Clearing towards sunrise.

Low temperatures in the mid 30s.

Light westerly winds.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny through mid afternoon. Increasing cloudiness late in the day. There is the slight chance of a light shower or sprinkle towards evening. Probability of precipitation 20%.

High temperatures in the low 50s in Pittsfield and North Adams, mid 50s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and near 50 in the hilltowns.

Becoming windy, particularly in the afternoon, with northwest winds increasing to 15-25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, breezy and seasonably cold.

Low temperatures in the low 30s.

Northwest winds 10-20 mph.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy, breezy and chilly.

High temperature in the low 40s in Pittsfield and North Adams, mid 40s in Great Barrington and Sheffield and upper 30s in the hilltowns.

Northwest winds at 10-20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.