DAYS 1-5 (MARCH 14-18)
Some of you will wake up to a fresh coating of snow this morning that will then melt quickly as the sun rises, though that sun will be interrupted frequently by a lot of cloudiness moving west to east across the sky today as the wind picks up. This is all associated with low pressure passing north of our region that will intensify as it heads toward Atlantic Canada. Other than a few sprinkles of rain or flurries of snow, we’ll have a dry day today along with the wind and limited sun. The wind will relax tonight as the storm pulls further away, but our active pattern continues and after we see some clearing of the sky tonight, the clouds will start to roll back in from the west on Sunday from a warm front advancing northeastward our way. This front’s precipitation will remain generally north and west of the WHW forecast area with no more than a brief bout of light rain or snow potentially clipping north central MA and southwestern NH. The front as parented by low pressure heading into the Great Lakes late this weekend – a storm that will have quite a broad circulation and become quite strong as it moves into eastern Canada during Monday. Its trailing cold front to our west will be moving our way during the day Monday and won’t pass through our region until the early hours of Tuesday. Ahead of it, a moderate to strong warm and moist southerly air flow will bring us periodic rain showers, most numerous from pre-dawn to mid morning Monday, with another more numerous cluster later in the day, and one final line that can included embedded thunder moving west to east across the region associated with the cold front. Impacts from this system include potentially damaging wind gusts, as well as some flooding of streams and rivers as heavier rainfall (combined with melting mountain snow to the north) runs over still partially frozen ground and fills the river system fairly quickly. Flood issues on larger rivers can last longer and persist up to a few days after the storm has departed. And the weather after its departure will be breezy, chilly, and dry for Tuesday (St. Pat’s Day) and Wednesday.
TODAY: Lots of clouds with intervals of sun. A passing light rain or snow shower possible, favoring the hilly terrain north and west of Boston through midday. Highs 43-50. Wind W to NW 15-25 MPH, gusts 35-45 MPH except 45-55 MPH in higher elevations and exposed areas.
TONIGHT: Clearing. Lows 25-32. Wind NW to W diminishing to under 10 MPH.
SUNDAY: Sun followed by clouds. Slight chance of brief late-day snow / mix north central MA and southwestern NH. Highs 42-49. Wind variable to SE up to 10 MPH.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Rain showers arrive and become widespread. Temperatures steady in 40s South Coast but rise to 50s elsewhere. Wind SE to S increasing to 10-20 MPH with higher gusts overnight.
MONDAY: Cloudy. Widespread rain showers until mid morning and returning again mid to late afternoon with just scattered rain showers between those times. Highs 57-64 except 50-57 South Coast. Wind S 15-25 MPH, gusts 30-50 MPH (possibly higher in some higher elevation and coastal areas).
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy with widespread rain showers and embedded thunderstorms, ending from west to east overnight. Breaking clouds toward dawn from west to east. Lows 32-39. Wind S 10-20 MPH, higher gusts, shifting to W.
TUESDAY: Sun and passing clouds. Highs 40-47. Wind W 10-20 MPH, higher gusts.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Lows 27-34. Wind W 5-15 MPH, higher gusts.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy. Highs 40-47. Wind W 10-20 MPH, higher gusts.
DAYS 6-10 (MARCH 19-23)
Fair weather and below normal temperatures March 19. Unsettled episodes March 20-22 with some rain / mix / snow showers but no major storminess indicated. Fair weather returns for the end of the period. Spring arrives with the occurrence of the vernal equinox at 10:46 a.m. EDT on March 20.
DAYS 11-15 (MARCH 24-28)
Up and down temps but averaging near to below normal for the period with at least one and possibly two late-season bouts of rain / mix / snow possible (March 24 & 27 continue to be dates to watch).