Snowfall Forecast Update

As the morning unfolds many of the questions we had coming into today are finally being answered and if you're a fan of lots of snow you'll like this news. If not, I apologize. It does appear that we will see a potent band of extremely heavy snowfall setup across central and portions of eastern CT. In addition to heavy snowfall we will see strong to damaging wind gusts leading to whiteout and blizzard conditions at times, and even some thundersnow!

As the morning progresses and watching mesoanalysdis data it is becoming apparent that the 700mb low will track far enough to the west to allow for a ribbon of very intense upward vertical motion to setup across a good portion of CT. This is seen looking at a 700mb frontogenesis chart:

A radar grab from 9:00 AM shows a band of extremely heavy snowfall developing just to the southeast of CT and this will continue to pivot over the state over the next several hours:

With such intense upward vertical motion thundersnow will be likely within this band as well and we've already seen reports of thundersnow, including cloud-to-ground lightning in southeastern CT.

What can we expect:

• As mid-level lift continues to increase over the next few hours, expect an increase in snowgrowth from southeast to northwest across the state. This is when you'll see snowflakes go from small to much larger in size. 
• Snowfall rates will continue to increase as well over the next several hours and will approach and exceed 1'' per hour at times. Under the heavy band, expect snowfall rates to vastly increase and approach anywhere from 3-5'' per hour, especially with any thundersnow. 
• Winds will continue to strengthen as well as the system continues to undergo rapid strengthening enhancing the pressure gradient. With heavy snow and strong winds, this will set the stage for whiteout conditions and blizzard conditions at times. In fact, a blizzard warning is now posted for New Haven, Middlesex, and New London Counties. Power outages will also occur due to the strong winds. 
• Winds could gust as high as 40-50 mph with some gusts perhaps approaching 60 mph across southeastern CT. 
• The heaviest snows persist until 2-4 PM this afternoon before gradually beginning to subside. 
• Travel is NOT advised.