Latest Update For Western & Central Mass On This Evening's Expected Strong Frontal Passage

A strong cold front that’s now pushing into far western parts of New York State is expected to move through the area around the 9-10 pm time frame this evening. This is what to expect with the front.

- A squall line of heavy rain and perhaps a couple of thunderstorms will affect the area between 9 pm and 10 pm.

- Much colder air will closely follow the frontal passage leading to a fast temperature drop from about 50 degrees around 9 pm to about 40-45 Degrees by 10 pm, to about 35 Degrees by 11 pm, to about 30 Degrees by midnight and finally into the mid to upper 20s by 1 am.

- Precipitation will rapidly flip from rain around 9-10 pm to sleet & then snow by 11 pm. The snow then looks to continue until about midnight-1 am when it’ll end. Snow amounts of up to one inch looks likely across much of Western and Central Mass. The exception may be across the northern Worcester Hills and the Berkshires where 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation is possible.

- Expected Winds: South winds of 15 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph are expected throughout this afternoon into very early this evening. Winds during the frontal passage will go from South winds of 20-30 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph around 9-10 pm to West to Northwest 20-35 mph with gusts to 60-65 mph during the 10-11 pm hour. West to Northwest winds of 20-35 mph with gusts to 60 mph are then expected to continue through and beyond midnight tonight. During the day on Thursday, expect West winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Forecast Impacts:

- A “Flash Freeze” of water is expected to occur on roads, parking lots, driveways and other outdoor objects during about the 11 pm to midnight hour. This means that icy to very icy conditions will become likely by the 11 pm to midnight hour. These icy conditions are expected to persist through well after midnight tonight and perhaps into part of Thursday morning.

- Downed trees, downed power lines and scattered power outages are expected throughout tonight and Thursday due to the 50-65 mph wind gusts.

Update On The Expected Crashing Temperatures, “Flash Freeze”, Rapid Change From Rain To Snow & Very Windy Conditions That’s Expected Wednesday Evening

For Tonight: Widespread showers are expected to overspread Western Mass by about 8-9 pm and then overspread Central Mass by about 9-10 pm. These widespread showers are expected to last until about midnight or so with the showers ending shortly after midnight.

The showers this evening will likely be heavy in intensity and there may even be a rumble or two of thunder.

Another round of showers are expected to affect the entire area by about 4-6 am Wednesday morning and continue through sunrise Wednesday morning.

Temperatures tonight will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. Winds will be South at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

Wednesday: A powerhouse of a cold front is expected to push across the central and eastern Great Lakes region during the day on Wednesday. There will be plenty of showers, mild temperatures and quite windy conditions out ahead of this front.

Widespread on and off showers are expected throughout the day on Wednesday.

It will be quite windy throughout the day on Wednesday with South winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph expected.

High temperatures Wednesday will be near 55 Degrees.

Very Wild Weather Is Expected On Wednesday Night: It still looks like the weather will get very wild for a while during Wednesday night as a powerful cold front moves through the region.

Out ahead of this front, expect widespread showers, some of which will be heavy in intensity, a couple of thunderstorms and very windy conditions from about 7 pm to about 9 pm.

A squall line of heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms will traverse the area around the 9-10 pm time frame. This squall line will signal the passage of the strong cold front. Expect 50-65 mph wind gusts when this squall line moves through.

The passage of this front will be really something as I’m expecting a rapid temperature drop from the 50s to near 30 Degrees within about a 30 minute time frame. In addition, the rain will rapidly change to sleet and then snow when the front moves through. The winds will also rapidly shift into a west to northwest direction and gust to 50-60 mph. I expect all of this to occur around 9-10 pm across Western Mass and around 10-11 pm across Central Mass.

This all means that a “flash freeze” is expected first across Western Mass around 9-10 pm and then across Central Mass around 10-11 pm. Extremely slippery travel conditions will rapidly develop first across Western Mass around 9-10 pm and then across Central Mass around 10-11 pm.

In addition, up to one inch of snow accumulation looks likely when the rain changes to snow. The exception looks to be across the northern Worcester Hills where 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation looks possible. The snow looks to last until about midnight-1 am across the entire area.

Extremely slippery travel conditions are expected to last until well after midnight Wednesday night due to the combination of the “flash freeze” and the snow accumulations. It should be noted that these icy and slippery conditions could persist well into Thursday morning.

How windy will it be on Wednesday night? At this time, I am anticipating South winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 60 mph early in the evening. The winds will shift into a West to Northwest direction at 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 60 mph towards midnight. During the after midnight hours, I expect West to Northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 60 mph. Downed trees, downed power lines and scattered power outages are expected across the entire area throughout Wednesday night.

Temperatures will bottom out at near 25 Degrees by late Wednesday night.

Thursday: Even though Thursday looks like a bright and sunny day, it is expected to be cold and very windy.

High temperatures will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph. The continued strong winds during the day on Thursday will lead to a continued risk for power outages, downed trees and downed power lines.

Periods Of Rain & Mild Temperatures Wednesday Will Be Followed By Crashing Temperatures, A “Flash Freeze”, Up To One Inch Of Snow Accumulation & Very Windy Conditions By Midnight Wednesday Night

For Tonight & Tuesday: An area of high pressure will control the weather throughout tonight with clear skies expected. Low temperatures will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Winds will be South to Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

A mixture of some sunshine and lots of clouds can be expected throughout Tuesday with high temperatures between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds will be Southeast at 10 to 20 mph.

Wednesday: A strong cold front will be approaching the area from the Great Lakes region during Wednesday. A strong southwesterly wind flow during the day Wednesday will lead to a mild & quite windy day across the region.

In addition, periods of rain can be expected throughout the day on Wednesday.

High temperatures will be near 55 Degrees. Winds will be South at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

Very Wild Weather Is Expected On Wednesday Night: The weather looks like it could get quite wild for a while Wednesday night as a particularly strong cold front for this time of year will push across the region.

Out ahead of this front, expect rain, very windy conditions and a chance for a thunderstorm or two during the early part of Wednesday evening.

That strong cold front is anticipated to cross the area between about 10 pm and midnight Wednesday night and you will most definitely know when it comes through. This is because I am expecting the temperatures to drop from the 50s to between 25 and 30 Degrees within a 30 minute time frame. In addition, rain will quickly change to snow and the winds will suddenly shift to a west to northwest direction and become pretty strong.

This all means that a “flash freeze” looks very likely to occur from west to east across the region between 10 pm and midnight. In addition, up to one inch of snow accumulation may occur around midnight with the changeover to snow. The exception looks to be across the northern Worcester Hills where 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation is possible around midnight Wednesday night.

Very slippery travel conditions look likely for several hours starting between 10 pm and midnight and continuing through the after midnight hours of Wednesday night due to the “flash freeze” and any snow accumulations.

During the after midnight hours of Wednesday night, any snow will come to an end by about 2 to 3 am. It will still be very windy and temperatures are expected to continue falling to around 25 Degrees by sunrise Thursday morning.

How windy will it be on Wednesday night? At this time, I am anticipating Southwest winds of 25 to 30 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph before midnight and West to Northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph after midnight. This means that downed trees and downed power lines are likely due to the strong winds leading to scattered power outages across the entire area.

Thursday: Even though Thursday looks like a bright and sunny day, it is expected to be cold and very windy.

High temperatures will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph. The continued strong winds during the day on Thursday will lead to a continued risk for power outages, downed trees and downed power outages.

Friday: Temperatures warm back up under sunny to partly sunny skies for Friday. High temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees.