Another morning of snow started Thursday for eastern and central Massachusetts as the last of the upper level atmospheric energy that drove the early week northeast winter storm drifts overhead, slowly departing to our east.
Drier air will allow sunshine to break out in New England Thursday morning and afternoon, but it will be battled by lingering moisture for variable new, building clouds.
After a clear night of falling temperatures Thursday, a quick-moving disturbance arrives Friday. This will set the stage for a brief shot of wet snow anywhere near and north of the Massachusetts Turnpike somewhere between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., west to east, respectively.
The first round of snow showers drops a coating of morning snow for many – mixed with raindrops in far southern New England.
An arriving shot of milder air will bump temperatures into the 40s in southern New England by afternoon, so the steadiest precipitation will fall as mostly rain in central and southern New England. Snow will continue falling in northern New England, though, with one to three inches of accumulation expected and higher amounts locally in the higher terrain.
Clearing Friday night makes way for a fair and relatively pleasant Saturday regionwide with some appreciable melting as temperatures near 40 degrees.
The jet stream winds aloft – the fast stream of air that steers storm systems and separates northern cool air from southern milder air – flows near to New England this weekend into early next week, so our First Alert Team will have a few disturbances to watch carefully.
After Friday’s quick-moving storm system, another storm is set to develop relatively nearby on Sunday as northern energy and cold air merges with southern moisture. At this point, it appears that powerful merger happens just a bit east of New England. This would mean snow showers Sunday afternoon and evening are more likely than a snowstorm, but with energetic players on the map, we’ll continue keeping a close eye.
After another one day break Monday, a new set of energetic disturbances passes close on Tuesday, but the exact storm track depends on the timing of the arrival of a shot of hearty cold from Canada. Because storms tend to develop on or near the battle zone between cold and warm, the speed of next week’s cold air will be key on paving the way for Tuesday’s storm.
If the cold push is on the slower side, New England is dealt accumulating snow and perhaps a rain/snow line Tuesday. If the cold push is faster, the storm is nudged southeast of New England.
For now, our exclusive First Alert 10-day forecast maintains a chance of snow and rain Tuesday, with the more meaningful cold air arriving immediately thereafter for the middle and end of next week. We’ll certainly keep you posted on-air and online.
