Weather

Possible Nor'easter Increases Chance of Wet, White Start Mid-Week

A fast-moving coastal storm is set to impact New England first thing Wednesday.

Cold high-pressure is overhead right now with a mostly clear sky and light wind. It’s a nice looking Tuesday. However, we start out in the 20s, our high temperature rises to 40s and low 50s.

Low pressure has formed on the front that passed through New England on Sunday and is now strengthening to our south. The storm will continue to intensify as it races northward along the coast of North Carolina to just east of Nantucket by early Wednesday morning.

Clouds will increase Tuesday night with low temperature in the 20s and 30s.

Rain and snow arrive at South Coast by about midnight swiftly to the north. It’s tough to call the rain-snow line since it could actually be snowing closer to the coast and raining inland if the precipitation comes down heavy enough.

Either way, there could be a wet and possibly white start on Wednesday morning. We could see some delays or cancellations due to heavy snow.

The worst of the weather looks to be about 5 to 9 a.m. in southern New England, and a bit later in New Hampshire and Maine. In western Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and most of Vermont, it’s just the fringes of the storm and should not have much impact.

Once we get east of the Connecticut River, it’s going to be a pretty slow start on the roads. The storm is moving northward so fast, that most of the action should be done by noon time and southern New England.

The sun will come out in the afternoon, pushing the temperature into the 50s in the same place it was snowing earlier. Over Cape Cod and the Islands, wind from the north may gust past 55 miles an hour, with possible power outage issues.

Seas will build to 10 to 15 feet near the shore, resulting in coastal erosion. But the astronomical tides, and the speed of the storm mean that we should not have much more than scattered minor coastal flooding.

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In Maine, the snow may keep going for much of the afternoon downeast. Maine probably has the most significant accumulation and there could be a few spots with 6 inches or more in the higher elevations.

After the storm goes by, there is a brief warm-up before the next cold front comes in Wednesday night. Thursday is going to be a little bit cooler, with a return to sunshine and high temperature in the 40s. A wave of low pressure is going to pass south of New England on Friday, with a chance of some more rain or snow along the south coast.

That weather system may linger into the first part of Saturday, but after that, we may end up with a brighter weekend, especially Sunday. Temperatures rather seasonable, in the low 50s.

As for the early call for Opening Day at Fenway Park, the Red Sox may play in spring showers with a warm-up. Stay tuned to our First Alert 10-Day Forecast for details.

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