Here are the latest updates on the upcoming storm from the necn weather team.
After looking at every computer model available and every piece of information, there is no doubt in my mind that this will be an all-out blizzard that will rank up there with some of New England's worst snowstorms. I'm expecting 12" to 36" of snow, depending where you are in New England (where we have blizzard warnings, expect the higher amounts). I say this not to scare anyone, just to put it in perspective.
As the storm moves from the mid-Atlantic towards southern New England, it will become negatively tilted and undergo explosive cyclogenesis, intensifying and deepening even close to a 970 mb low very quickly. That means a lot of lift, rising air. However, this time around, it won't leave quickly. Expect 30 to 40 hours snow (although not intense the whole time). The amount of precipitation (QPF) is 1.5 to three inches of liquid, and this time around, there is an injection of cold air and thermal profiles indicate an all snowstorm for most.
Nantucket could be the exception, with some mixing there lowering snow amounts to about six to eight inches.
Timing: The storm arrives for most Monday afternoon, but really starts to ramp up during the evening with heaviest snow in southern New England Tuesday morning and afternoon. Tuesday morning, we could see snowfall rates of two to three inches per hour. Thunder snow is also possible at that time. The storm will start to wind down for Southern New England on Tuesday night, but New Hampshire and Maine will see the threat shift towards them. Snow should completely end in Southern New England by Wednesday morning.
Strong winds will peak Monday night into Tuesday morning. At that time, 40 mph gusts are expected across the interior southern New England, with 60 mph along the coast and even stronger for the Cape and Islands, where you could see Hurricane-force winds. The heavy snow, along with strong winds, bring us to the blizzard conditions for several hours.
- Blowing and drifting snow will reduce visibility to zero in Eastern New England.
- Traveling will become near-impossible for many Monday night and Tuesday.
- Downed trees, power outages could be a problem.
This is also a life threatening storm for mariners, with seas building to 30 feet and significant coastal flooding expected along the east coast of Massachusetts during Tuesday morning high tide (4 to 6 a.m.).
