Snow Showers & Snow Squalls Late This Afternoon & Early This Evening; Bitter Cold This Weekend

This Afternoon: A few scattered snow showers and perhaps a snow squall or two is expected by later this afternoon and early this evening across Western and Central Mass. A cold front is expected to push through the area this evening. Ahead of this front, the atmosphere is just unstable enough to produce snow shower and snow squall activity across central and eastern New York State and northern Pennsylvania. It looks like scattered snow showers and a snow squall or two will enter Western Mass by about 3-4 pm this afternoon and then reach Central Mass by about 6-7 pm. Any snow shower and snow squall activity will produce very low visibilities, wind gusts to 30 mph and a quick 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation. This will lead to slippery road conditions and poor travel conditions for a short period of time in areas that see the snow shower/snow squall activity. Temperatures this afternoon will be in the upper 30s to low 40s. Tonight: Much colder air will move into the area after midnight tonight as the cold front pushes offshore. Any leftover snow showers will end this evening and it will be followed by clearing skies after midnight. Northwest winds are expected to gust up to 25 to 30 mph and this will put a real bite into the air. Low temperatures tonight will be between 15 and 20 Degrees. Wind chill temperatures tonight will be in the single numbers. Saturday: A sunny, but windy and bitterly cold day is expected across the area. High temperatures on Saturday will be near 25 Degrees. Northwest winds are expected to gust up to 35 mph and this will produce wind chill temperatures of between Zero and 10 above zero. Saturday Night: Clear skies, windy conditions and bitterly cold temperatures are expected on Saturday night. Low temperatures Saturday night will be near 10 Degrees. Northwest winds are expected to gust up to 30 to 40 mph and this will lead to wind chill temperatures of Zero to 10 below zero. Sunday: Sunny, windy and continued cold temperatures are expected on Sunday. High temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Northwest winds are expected to gust up to 30 mph and this will lead to wind chill temperatures in the teens. Monday: An area of high pressure will control our weather throughout Monday. We should have a sunny to partly sunny day on Monday with high temperatures between 30 and 35 Degrees. Tuesday: An area of low pressure is expected to take shape near the Mid-Atlantic coast on Monday night and Tuesday morning. It appears that a blocking high pressure system may push this storm system on a track that keeps it to the south of Nantucket. This track should keep a majority of the accumulating snow to our south. With that said, the track of this storm could still be close enough for some light snow to occur on Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening. I think that any snow accumulation will be light with 1 to 3 inches possible. With that said, the track of this storm will still be watched in case this storm system tracks closer to our area.

Snow Showers For Wednesday & Thursday Across Western & Central Mass

This Afternoon: A mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected for this afternoon. In addition to this, an area of snow showers now pushing across eastern New York State is expected to push through the area late this afternoon. This means that some scattered snow shower activity can be expected across Western and Central Mass. Temperatures this afternoon will be in the middle 30s. Tonight: Skies are expected to start out partly cloudy this evening, but will become cloudy late tonight as a rather strong upper level weather disturbance approaches the area. Low temperatures tonight will be near 25 Degrees. Wednesday: A cold front combined with a strong upper level weather disturbance is expected to push through the area during Wednesday. An area of snow showers and even a little bit of light snow will overspread Western and Central Mass, especially across areas along and south of the Mass Pike by 8 to 9 am Wednesday morning. This snow shower activity is then expected to continue through midday before coming to an end. Any snow accumulation should be one inch or less, mainly found south of the Mass Pike. During Wednesday afternoon, I think that we will see a mixture of sunshine and clouds and there is the possibility for a stray leftover snow shower or two. High temperatures Wednesday will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Thursday: A trough of low pressure is expected to push across the area during the late morning and early afternoon hours of Thursday. This means that an area of snow showers will push across the area between about 9-10 am to 1-2 pm Thursday. A quick inch or so of snow accumulation is possible with some of this snow shower activity. High temperatures Thursday will be near 30 Degrees. Friday: A mostly cloudy day is expected on Friday and there could be a stray snow shower or two around, primarily in the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires. High temperatures Friday will be near 35 Degrees. This Weekend: Saturday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures near 30 Degrees. Sunday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees. Still Watching Early Next Week For Possible Snowfall: I continue to keep close tabs on the potential for a low pressure system to push off of the Mid-Atlantic coast late Monday night into next Tuesday. Obviously, the track of this storm system is going to be critical in determining whether it snows or not across Western and Central Mass. Some of the weather forecast guidance forecasts a track close enough to our area to bring a few inches of snow to the area next Tuesday. Other just as reliable weather forecast guidance forecasts a track that keeps this storm far enough south so that only the Mid-Atlantic States (Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC) sees snow and we remain dry, but cold. Even though it’s too soon to really iron out an exact storm track, the trend in the weather forecast data is for a southern storm track keeping us dry rather than a track that would give us accumulating snow. With that said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a close enough track to bring a 1 to 3 inch or a 2 to 4 inch snowfall to parts of the area next Tuesday.

Progressively Colder Temperatures Are Expected This Coming Week Across Western & Central Mass

This Afternoon: A northwesterly wind flow thanks to an upper level low pressure system now located near the Maine-New Brunswick, Canada border will lead to a mixture of lots of clouds and some sunshine this afternoon. It will be windy this afternoon with west winds gusting up to 40 mph at times. Temperatures this afternoon will be between 40 and 45 Degrees. Tonight: That upper level low pressure system will continue to be an influence on our weather tonight. This means that varying amounts of clouds can be expected and there may be a stray snow flurry or two possible. Low temperatures tonight will be near 30 Degrees. Gusty west winds this evening will gradually slacken off after midnight. Monday: A weak piece of energy caught in the northwesterly wind flow will move through the area during Monday afternoon. This means that any morning sunshine will be very brief and we should be left with lots of clouds during Monday afternoon. In addition, some scattered snow showers are expected during Monday afternoon. High temperatures Monday will be near 40 Degrees. Tuesday: A mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected on Tuesday with high temperatures between 35 and 40 Degrees. Wednesday: A cold front is expected to push through the area during Wednesday. This means that we should see a mixture of sunshine and clouds on Wednesday and there may be a few snow showers around from time to time. High temperatures Wednesday will be near 35 Degrees. Thursday: A weak low pressure system may develop to the southeast of Nantucket on Thursday. A trough of low pressure will extend to the northwest of this low pressure center & that trough will pass through the area during the day on Thursday. This all means that some light snow is possible during Thursday afternoon and Thursday evening with accumulations of around one inch possible. High temperatures Thursday will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Friday Through Next Sunday: A cold weather pattern is expected to set up for late this coming week through next weekend as high pressure gradually builds into the area. Friday looks generally mostly cloudy and there may be a stray snow shower or two around. High temperatures Friday will be near 35 Degrees. Saturday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures near 30 Degrees. Next Sunday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees. Accumulating Snow Possible Next Monday & Next Tuesday (January 25 & 26): I am really keeping an eye on the period from next Monday through next Tuesday for the potential of a coastal storm that could bring Western and Central Mass accumulating snow. The weather pattern for the last week of this month looks quite favorable for winter storm development & I would be shocked if we don’t see a snowstorm during the last week of January. At this point, we may see a low pressure system form near the New Jersey coast late next Monday and head northeastward towards Nantucket & then Atlantic Canada by next Tuesday. This means that accumulating snow with enough to plow (maybe a 3 to 6 inch snowfall) is possible across all of Western and Central Mass starting next Monday afternoon and continuing through next Monday night and part of next Tuesday. In addition to this, I am also keeping a close eye on the entire last week of January and the entire first week of February for below average temperatures and the potential for at least a couple of more winter storm threats.