DAYS 1-5 (APRIL 3-7)
The key aspects of the upcoming storm, the main part of which occurs later today through early Thursday, will be wind and rain for southern and eastern areas and somewhat wind but mostly sleet and wet snow further west and north. The idea is generally the same for this as yesterday’s update, and that’s for the next round of precipitation (after last night’s entering and dissipating rainfall area) to arrive during this morning and midday from southwest to northeast and grow steady and moderate to at times heavy, with mixing and turning over to sleet and wet snow taking places earliest and most completely over interior higher elevations (mainly Worcester Hills to Monadnock Region) and progress generally but somewhat unevenly to the east from there, mostly the I-495 to I-95 belts to the north of I-90. The uneven advance will be due to mixing / changing occurring in heavier pockets of precipitation as they translate east and northeast. These pockets do a more efficient transport of colder air downward to aid in the process. I do think the track of a secondary low will be across far southeastern New England but close enough that the mix/change process can’t really take place further south, which is why I expect a mainly rain event with maybe some occasional mixing in these locations. As the low center moves away it will do so very slowly – held up a bit by blocking – during Thursday and Friday when we’ll have additional rain and snow showers. The wind aspect will be most notable tonight and early Thursday when we have the strongest gradient and onshore winds north of the low’s track. This can result in some damage to trees and scattered power outages. We’ll also have the chance to see some tree damage and power outages in the hilly terrain to the north and west where snow accumulates the most. With surface temperatures a little too warm to support icing, that won’t be a factor, and sleet does not generally lead to load problems for trees, so even where that accumulates it shouldn’t add much to the problems. For sleet/snow accumulation, I’m expecting 4-8 inches in the highest elevations of the Worcester Hills to Monadnocks, and in pockets further east in southern NH with 2-4 inches southeast of there into the the I-495 belt north of I-90, then pockets of slushy coatings to 2 inch amounts south and east of there but favoring inland areas north of I-90. Fast forward a little to the weekend when we’ll see gradual improvement as the low pressure area that is still impacting the region with clouds and a few rain showers Saturday will lose its grip Sunday when we will see better weather. Hang in there!
TODAY: Hint of sun eastern areas early, then re-thickening overcast. Rain arrives west to east, may mix with sleet and/or snow by later in the day over interior higher elevations northwest of Boston. Highs 40-47 early, then slowly falling. Wind NE-E 10-20 MPH, gusty.
TONIGHT: Overcast. Rain, heavy at times, will mix with and turn to sleet/snow at times favoring north central MA and southern NH. Lows 33-40. Wind E-NE 10-20 MPH inland, 20-30 MPH coast, higher gusts.
THURSDAY: Cloudy. Steady precipitation tapers to rain/snow showers. Highs 38-45, may spike to 45-52 Cape Cod. Wind NE-N 10-20 MPH inland, 20-30 MPH coast but may become variable Cape Cod, higher gusts probable.
THURSDAY NIGHT / FRIDAY: Mainly cloudy with additional rain/snow showers. Temperatures generally steady 38-45. Wind variable becoming N 10-20 MPH with higher gusts.
FRIDAY NIGHT / SATURDAY: Lots of clouds. A few rain/snow showers Friday night and a few rain showers Saturday. Lows 30-37 Friday night. Highs 41-48 Saturday. Wind N-NW 10-20 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 33-40. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.
SUNDAY: Partly to mostly sunny. Highs 47-54. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (APRIL 8-12)
High pressure and fair weather April 8-9. Favorable sky conditions expected for solar eclipse viewing on April 8 (partial but greater than 90% coverage for WHW forecast areas while path of totality crosses far northern New England). Unsettled weather potential returns mid into late period. Temperatures near to above normal.
DAYS 11-15 (APRIL 13-17)
A more west-to-east flow means variable temperatures and weaker weather systems to pass through, including a couple rain shower threats to start. May need to watch for a return to some blocking later on in the period with onshore flow and cooler weather.