Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 16 to 17, 2022

Name: Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 16 to 17, 2022
Start: 2022-12-16T02:30
End: 2022-12-17T07:00
Location: Massachusetts

December 16 to 17, 2022 · NWS BOX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Low pressure intensified along the New Jersey coast on the 16th and moved northeast across southeast New England, reaching the Gulf of Maine on the 17th. The big impact was very heavy elevational snows, with a foot-and-a-half of snow in the east slopes of the Berkshires and 8 to 10 inches in the hills of northern Worcester County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $13,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 1:10 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 1:10 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 4:08 PM EST, 10 hours 22 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow, 1 strong wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Western Franklin

When: December 16, 2:30 AM EST to December 17, 6:30 AM EST
Where: Western Franklin forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow fell in western Franklin County. Warning criteria was met as early as 6:30 AM EST on the 16th. Final totals included: 18.0 inches in Rowe (amateur radio); 16.0 in Hawley (trained spotter); and 11.0 in Ashfield (trained spotter). In Rowe, at 10 AM EST, the weight of the snow knocked down a tree and wires on Davis Mine Road and at 610 AM EST on the 17th, police reported a tree down on Middletown Hill Road. In Ashfield at 214 PM EST on the 16th, the Fire Dept. reported a tree down on wires (road unspecified). In Buckland at 525 AM EST on the 17th, the Fire Dept. reported multiple trees down on wires. In Conway at 552 AM EST on the 17th, amateur radio operators reported a large tree down on North Poland Road.

Heavy Snow, Western Hampshire

When: December 16, 2:30 AM EST to December 17, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Western Hampshire forecast zone
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow occurred in western Hampshire County. Warning criteria was reached as early as 6:30 AM on the 16th. Some final totals included: Goshen 16.0 inches (amateur radio); Plainfield 13.0 inches (trained spotter); Chesterfield 10.3 inches (trained spotter). In Chesterfield at 657 AM EST on the 16th, the Fire Dept. reported a tree limb and wires down on a car, from the weight of the snow (report relayed by amateur radio). In Cummington at 1046 AM EST on the 16th, the public reported a tree down on wires on Wilder Road. In Worthington at 550 AM EST on the 17th, police reported a large tree down on wires on Witt Hill Road at Guard Road. In Goshen at 7 AM EST on the 17th, Fire Dept. officials reported a tree down on wires on Ball Road (report relayed by amateur radio).

Heavy Snow, Western Hampden

When: December 16, 2:30 AM EST to December 17, 6:30 AM EST
Where: Western Hampden forecast zone
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow fell in western Hampden County. Warning criteria was reached as early as 630 AM EST on the 16th. The final total in Chester was 14.0 inches (amateur radio). In Granville at 716 AM EST on the 16th, police reported a tree down on wires from the weight of the snow (road unspecified). In Chester at 759 AM EST on the 16th, the public reported multiple trees down on Round Hill Road (report relayed by amateur radio). In Blandford at 110 PM EST on the 16th, the public reported power lines down on North Blandford Road (report relayed by amateur radio).

Strong Wind, Western Norfolk

When: December 16, 8:54 AM EST
Where: Western Norfolk forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $500
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

In Westwood, a tree was down on Canton Street. Public report was relayed by amateur radio.

Winter Weather, Northwest Middlesex County

When: December 16, 12:00 PM EST to December 17, 5:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Middlesex County forecast zone
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

In Ashby, an amateur radio operator reported 11 inches of snow and trees down on West Road and Piper Road. This is being listed as Winter Weather, rather than Heavy Snow, because Ashby was the only town in MA Zone 26 that had heavy snow... Townsend had 3.5 inches, Pepperell had 1 inch, and Ayer reported 0.3 inches, so the zone average was below warning criteria.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2022 Every state in 2022 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, December 2022

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1062919, 1062920, 1062932, 1062918, 1062924.