Boston, MA – Winter Storm Nemo is taking aim on the Northeast, and while local residents are flooding grocery stores to stock up on staples, skiers and riders across the region are waxing their planks.

A warm, moist weather system over the southeast is merging with a blast of cold air accompanying a separate low pressure center presently crossing the Great Lakes. The result is expected to be a superstorm Nor’easter that has the potential to smash snowfall records across the Northeast and New England.

The forecast hints that winter sports enthusiasts might choose to eschew more traditional northern destinations in favor of ski resorts in southern New England if they want to maximize their powder potential. The Weather Channel, which has taken to naming winter storms this season and gave this storm its Nemo moniker, puts the 18 to 24-inch bullseye across Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts through Saturday, where the National Weather Service has posted blizzard warnings. This system has the potential to surpass the record snowstorm total of 27.5 inches recorded in Boston on Feb. 17-18, 2003. Yawgoo Valley or Blue Hills, anyone? Perhaps Nashoba or Wachusett?

Those who prefer skiing locales in northern New England shouldn’t fear, however, for the forecast also calls for storm totals approaching 18 inches across much of Upstate New York, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, too…for those who can get there, or those who can withstand the anticipated hurricane force winds.

Let’s be safe out there, and get after it!