Heavy Snow — Eastern Hampshire, Massachusetts

2023-02-27 to 2023-02-28 · Eastern Hampshire, Massachusetts

Event narrative

Snowfall amounts in eastern Hampshire County were highly variable, with the greatest amounts west of the Connecticut River and the lowest amounts farther east, toward Worcester County. Some totals included: 6.8 inches in Southampton; 6.6 inches in Easthampton; and 6.0 inches in Northampton. Farther east, 4.5 inches was reported in Belchertown and 4.0 inches in Amherst.

Wider weather episode

A potent mid level low/shortwave deamplified as it moved east-southeast from the Ohio Valley late on the 27th and early on the 28th. At the surface, while the parent low lifted across the Great Lakes, a secondary low developed over DelMarVa in response to height falls from approaching trough...then moved east, passing well south of southern New England. The result was a northwest-to-southeast oriented band of heavy snow from western MA to northern and eastern CT to southern RI. Six to nine inches of snow fell in those regions. There was a very sharp cutoff to the northeast, with only one to two inches falling in northeastern MA and Cape Cod.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1081643. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.