As you settle back into work, I am sure one of the more popular subjects around the water cooler will be last weekend’s snowstorm. I had an interesting email exchange over the weekend with one of my fellow meteorologists concerning whether or not we should have called this storm a blizzard. This is what meteorologists do. We love to talk about the details of what the models are showing before a storm and then recount what actually happened when it's over. I am incredibly fortunate to be able to chat with some of the best forecasters in the business and what's more, this region is lucky, because we have some of those forecasters working both in front of and behind the scenes of both the public and private sector.

I put together a list of snowfall totals as I have them this morning. Scroll down as this is no particular order. This has been a top 10 storm for many people and the biggest snowstorm ever in terms of snow totals for others. Portland, ME set a new all-time snow total record. While we did have blizzard warnings in effect for much of the storm as a point of definition we never officially had a blizzard. We had blizzard conditions, but they didn't last long enough for the storm to qualify as a blizzard. According to the definition, we would have needed to have 35 mile per hour wind, combined with one-quarter mile visibility (or less) and it had to have lasted for 3 hours or longer. That did not occur in this storm, so imagine if this had been a blizzard!

I'd love to learn about your total snowfall amounts and see your pictures. You can send them to me on Twitter at @growingwisdom enjoy the storm.

Blizzard warnings are being taken down and conditions will continue to improve the rest of the day. The last of the snow bands is clearing the coast and the long process of cleaning up the snow will continue. I would not be surprise if some schools are delayed or cancelled Monday as sidewalks will not all be cleared by then. However, most of our lives will quickly get back to normal even with fewer parking spaces available for a while. The snow will start to settle on itself the next few days and with temperatures going above freezing it won't be quite so high by the end of the upcoming week. I don't see any major rain on the way which is also good news.

This will be my last blog posting of the night. I will be back again in the morning as the storm is ending. Snow will continue to pile up for the rest of the overnight. The storm is now located to our south off the coast of Nantucket and continues to move northward. The map above shows the axis of the heaviest bands of snow as predicted through 4 AM. I still expect the heaviest snow to occur from now until about that time. Until then, 6 to 12 inches of additional snow should fall across much of southern New England with isolated higher amounts . Winds will continue to be strong and there will be power issues through the night and continuing into the first part of Saturday morning. After 7AM, I expect much lighter snow with an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow by noon. When all is said and done the state will be blanketed by as much as 30 inches of snow in those areas that saw the heaviest bands and thunderstorms. Most total amounts will fall in the 14-22 inch range statewide. In storms like this, there are always spots that fall out of the range either too high or too low. I'll continue to send out updated on Twitter at @growingwisdom and please send me your snow reports there.

I feel like it's been weeks since we first predicted this storm, but in reality it has only been a few days. Now it is time to finish preparing for the storm and get ready to be inside for the day tomorrow. I think we have grown very averse to being inconvenienced because the reality is that there will only be about 24 hours when you can't get around. Power is the big concern for most of us, and if it does go out, hopefully it will return fairly quickly. There has been so much warning with this storm that I imagine most of the area will be unusually today. I also suspect that since the storm is occurring overnight tonight and Saturday that crews will be able to clean up easier than if it was a mid-week storm.. If you have last minute things you do want to get done try to be home by 3 PM this afternoon. As usual I will be updating the forecast on on Twitter at @growingwisdom please follow me there.

Blizzard warnings are now in effect for nearly the entire coast from central Maine south to New York City. If you need to get out tomorrow, the morning will provide the best travel conditions. Roads will become snow covered in the afternoon and travel nearly impossible after dark.You might be wondering if all of the coverage of the past twenty-four hours is overdone or if this storm is for real. First, some details on the timing of the storm. I'll be updating details on the potential blizzard on Twitter at @growingwisdom