NORTHAMPTON — Areas of western Massachusetts could see more than a foot of snow Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
As of Sunday evening, forecasters are predicting between 12 and 18 inches of snow for the Amherst, Greenfield and Springfield areas; the most likely snowfall total for those three areas, the agency said, would be around 15 inches.
There is a low likelihood that some areas could see as much as 2 feet of snow.
The nor’easter will track from the mid-Atlantic and through the Nantucket coast by Tuesday evening, said Hayden Frank, meteorologist at the National Weather Service.
Predicted snow totals have grown from an earlier forecast, released at 9 a.m. Sunday, which estimated that much of western Massachusetts would receive between 8 and 12 inches.
William Babcock, meteorologist at the weather service’s Taunton office, said snow could fall between 1 and 4 inches per hour at midmorning Tuesday, affecting the latter part of the morning commute. Lighter snow was expected for the early morning hours, he said.
“It’ll start light … but by the end of the morning commute it will be ramping up to a heavier snowfall,” he said.
While the snow will not fall at the same rate throughout the day, he said, there could be “bursts” throughout.
The evening commute?
“I’m not sure there will be one,” Babcock said, suggesting that many people will be snowed in. “But it would certainly be affected, yes.”
A winter storm warning will be in effect starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday and is expected to last until 2 a.m. Wednesday.
“You’re looking at a foot or more, basically, in the region,” Babcock said. “It’s going to be a lot of snow, heavy at times. Winds are going to be increasing out of the northeast and there will be gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon and the first part of Tuesday night.”
Babcock said that through midnight Saturday, the weather service’s permanent monitoring station in Windsor Locks, Conn. had logged 45 inches of snow this winter — about 9½ inches above normal, he said.
The eastern parts of the state could face blizzard conditions, the agency said. Accumulation could total between 12 and 18 inches, with the potential for up to 2 feet of snow in isolated parts of northeastern Massachusetts.
Coastal flooding, power outages and wind speeds up to 55 mph are all in the mix.
The weather service also issued a blizzard watch for coastal regions including New York City and surrounding areas of Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut.