DAYS 1-5 (FEBRUARY 22-26)
A cloudy but quiet Sunday ahead of a winter storm that will whack the region with snow and wind tonight and Monday as low pressure emerging off the Mid Atlantic Coast intensifies rapidly and passes southeast of New England. The closer to the coast you are the wetter the snow will be. A coastal front will separate temperatures closer to freezing from temperatures below freezing – the boundary being in the vicinity of I-95 during the storm. Wetter snow combined with strongest wind gusts in the coastal plain make chances of power outages much higher in these locations. Mildest air and wettest snow holds accumulations down somewhat over Cape Cod and the Islands. Areas just west of the coastal front can maximize accumulation due to enhancement of snowfall. We also have to watch for not only bands of heavier snowfall, but bands of drier air where snow can be less intense. Thundersnow is a low chance but is possible in some of the heavier snow bands. The peak of the storm will be during the 12 hours from midnight to noon Monday with a quick increase leading into it and a slow wind-down following it. The NWS has issued a blizzard warning from the NH Seacoast through coastal Essex County, Metro Boston, all of southeastern MA, and RI. These are the areas most likely to see blizzard criteria met – sustained winds or frequent wind gusts of 35 MPH or greater and visibility under 1/4 mile for at least 3 hours. Accumulation expectation is 10 to 18 inches for most areas with the most likely area failing to reach 10 being Cape Cod and the Islands and isolated greater-than-18 inch pockets a potential under any quasi-stationary bands of heaviest snow. Storm wind-down is complete by Monday night then we get a break with high pressure bringing fair weather Tuesday. The next low pressure system comes our way via the Great Lakes Wednesday with some snow/mix/rain. This one will not be a major event. Unsettled weather lingers into Thursday as well and the next storm system approaches by late Thursday from the Ohio Valley with another rain/mix/snow threat. More details on the midweek unsettled episodes in the next post.
TODAY: Cloudy. Highs 30-37. Wind N to NE 5-15 MPH.
TONIGHT: Overcast. Snow arrives south to north, heavy at times late evening and overnight. Thunder possible near South Coast overnight. Lows 25-32. Wind NE increasing to 15-25 MPH inland and 25-35 MPH coast with higher gusts.
MONDAY: Overcast. Snow, heavy at times morning, including the chance of thunder. Snow tapering off west to east afternoon. Highs 27-34, coldest well inland, mildest Cape Cod. Wind NE 15-35 MPH, gusts 40-60 MPH, strongest along the coast.
MONDAY NIGHT: Clearing. Lows 18-25. Wind N 15-25 MPH with higher gusts evening, diminishing overnight.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs 28-35. Wind NW 5-15 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 13-20. Wind W under 10 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy. Rain/mix/snow likely. Highs 30-37. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT / THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy. Occasional rain/mix/snow expected. Lows 26-33. Highs 33-40. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (FEBRUARY 27 – MARCH 3)
Clearing out February 27 based on current timing. Briefly dry weather, then next unsettled weather threat comes in the March 1-2 time frame. Temperatures near to below normal.
DAYS 11-15 (MARCH 4-8)
One or two additional unsettled weather threats as the active pattern continues in early March. Temperatures near to below normal.