Having fun yet? Incredible amounts of snow have fallen in such a short amount of time.
We have received a whole winter's amount of snow the course of the past 10 days! When I was digging out from the most recent snowfall, I remember thinking to myself this is the largest snow I can remember digging out from, and the National Weather Service has confirmed it. Boston has broken the record for the amount of snow in a seven day period with 40.5 inches of snow falling at Logan Airport, shattering the previous record of 31.2 inches in 1996.
Meanwhile, Worcester, Massachusetts, has become the second snowiest city in America with 72.6 inches so far. This is 3 feet of snow above the average for this time of year. The Blue Hill Weather Observatory reports this is the most snow they have seen on the ground for the first week of February in four years, with over 50 inches on top of the hill. Eastport, Maine, is the snow capital of New England with 76 inches of snow falling since January 25. Snow depths are deep across the region with huge mountains of snow piling up as people continue to dig out. The Northeast River Forecast Center snow depth map shows 30-40 inches on the ground from Maine to eastern Massachusetts. In this snow, there lies about 4-8 inches of water, so it is coming with incredible weight. Any more snow may become a problem for flat roof tops. In the winter of 2010-11, the snow came so heavy, and so fast, many roofs began to collapse. We hope that does not happen again.
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As we know, winter in New England does not stop and is always changing. When we move into a pattern favorable for snow, sometimes it can take weeks to get out of. Already we have our eyes on the next chance of snow. Snow showers and flurries will be flying Wednesday, but that is not what are necessarily worried about. Wednesday's snow showers will be triggered by a warm front, the leading edge of milder air which will directed into New England Wednesday afternoon with highs in the lower to mid-30s. We will finally climb above the freezing mark in southern New England, but what we will have to watch is the following cold front which will push into New England late Wednesday night.
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This front is the leading edge of a cold blast of air returning from Canada. It will collide into the milder air in place and form a round of snow during the early morning hours of Thursday. It will trigger about 1-3 inches of snow just in time of the Thursday morning commute. The front will push off the coast during the afternoon, where it will stall just offshore. Meanwhile, moisture form the Gulf of Mexico will be coming up the coast at that time. This will ride up along the front as a developing wave of low pressure and track Southeast of New England.
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Snow is likely Thursday, but the intensity, duration, and amounts are still in question. It will depend upon how rapidly this low develops and how close to New England it tracks. If the low develops too late or too offshore, very little snow will fall. But if it all comes together just right, with a deepening low close to the coast there is the potential for 6 inches of snow with locally heavier amounts. The latest information on Tuesday afternoon does not look like a very heavy snowfall and the storm does not appear to merge the energy of the polar and sub-tropical jetstreams. It will be over by Thursday night. Best early estimates would be 3-6 inches of snow with the heaviest snow across eastern New England, and near the coast.
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Another bitter blast of Arctic air will come flying in behind this disturbance with Friday once again only having highs in the single digits and teens. A weak disturbance will push through Saturday afternoon with the chance of a few more snow showers...and then another storm awaits!
Yes, another potential snow storm to track late Sunday afternoon-evening into Monday. This will be another Alberta Clipper diving in from Canada with a low tracking south of New England with a swath of moisture and temperatures cold enough to support snow. This has the potential to be a larger, stronger storm with higher probability for heavier snow than Thursday's. This one will have chance of producing 6-12+ inches of snow, with the heaviest across central and southern New England. It is still very far away, so we simply will need more time for more details on that. The pattern remains locked and loaded with winter and numerous disturbances. Each will come with the potential of adding to our historic New England snowpack!
