Heavy Rain Expected, Followed by a Flash Freeze

Brace yourself for quite a shift in weather over the next 24 hours.

Light rain showers early Friday will turn to a heavier and steadier rain over the course of the day, first in western New England and then near the coastline. Locally, dense fog will also be a problem as the rain arrives.

Heavy rain will continue on Friday night, with temperatures soaring well into the 50s and even near 60 — close to records in some cases. That heavy rain, combined with snow melt and still snow clogged storm drains, will result in areas of street flooding during the evening commute.

In southern New England, rain will continue into early Saturday, with a widespread 1 to 3 inches on the way by then. Meanwhile, Saturday morning will bring a change to snow near the U.S. border with Canada, and freezing rain in parts of western Connecticut, western and central Massachusetts and much of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

That will create very icy travel on Saturday morning. The cold air will continue to drain south, meaning that even around Boston we can expect standing water to freeze by about lunchtime.

The drop in temperature will be so fast — 20-30 degrees in just a few hours — that this will be a "flash freeze." Road crews will have a hard time keeping up with the quick advance of cold, so drive carefully.

A gusty and chilly wind continues to blow during the afternoon as the precipitation ends. Snowfall on Saturday in parts of northern Vermont and northern Maine will reach 6 to 9 inches, but totals will quickly drop off as you move south thanks to more freezing rain than anything else.

Expect a game time temperature of 24 degrees for the Patriots and Titans on Saturday night, along with a chilly wind that will make it feel even colder. Don’t be fooled by the warm morning — it will feel like winter by game time!

The 20s hold on with sun into Sunday and even into next week.

By the middle of the week, we’ll watch a clipper dive in and strengthen near New England, bringing the risk of snow late Tuesday into Wednesday and Thursday.