Several Nights With Hard Freezes Are Expected This Week Across Western & Central Mass

For Tonight: The low pressure system that has brought the area rain will move offshore and away during tonight. Because of this, rain will come to an end by about 8 pm this evening and skies will become partly cloudy by about midnight. During the after midnight hours of tonight, skies will be clear to partly cloudy. Low temperatures will be near 35 Degrees. Winds will be Northwest at 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday: Sunny skies are expected throughout the day on Tuesday with high temperatures between 45 and 50 Degrees. Winds will be North at 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday Night & Wednesday: An area of low pressure is expected to remain well southeast of our area. Because of this, this storm should remain too far east to really give us any appreciable precipitation. That said, a frontal boundary pushing eastward on the backside of this low pressure system could bring some rain showers to the region during Wednesday afternoon. Depending on how quick the cold air moves in, there could be some sleet and snow showers around in the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires. So, Tuesday night looks partly cloudy with low temperatures between 30 and 35 Degrees. Frost and scattered hard freezes are likely on Tuesday night. Wednesday looks like there will be more clouds than sunshine. In addition, scattered rain showers are expected during the afternoon. Some of the showers may be in the form of snow or sleet in the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires. That said, no snow or sleet accumulation is expected. High temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees. Wednesday Night Through Thursday Night: The coldest temperatures thus far season are expected on Wednesday night across the entire area. With clear skies and light winds expected on Wednesday night, a widespread hard freeze is likely across the entire area. Low temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Thursday is expected to be a sunny to partly sunny day with high temperatures between 45 and 50 Degrees. Thursday night looks clear to partly cloudy with another round of frosts and freezes likely. Low temperatures will be between 30 and 35 Degrees. Friday Through Sunday: High pressure will be in control of the weather throughout Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Friday and Saturday both look partly sunny with high temperatures both days near 55 Degrees. Sunday looks sunny to partly sunny with high temperatures near 60 Degrees.

Rain With Much Colder Temperatures Expected Sunday Afternoon Through Monday

For The Rest Of This Afternoon: Probably the last really warm temperatures until next Spring are expected throughout the rest of this afternoon across the entire area. Skies through mid-afternoon will be sunny to partly sunny with more clouds expected by late afternoon as a cold front pushes through the area. It’s possible that this front could produce an isolated shower or two across the region between about 4 pm and 7 pm. It should be noted though that any isolated showers will be very short-lived and fast moving and most areas will stay dry. Temperatures during the rest of this afternoon will be between 75 and 80 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Tonight: An area of high pressure is expected to temporarily control the weather tonight. This means that skies this evening will be clear to partly cloudy, but clouds will be on the increase after midnight tonight as a low pressure system begins to approach our area from the west. Low temperatures will be near 45 Degrees. Winds will be North to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph. Sunday Through Monday: A couple of low pressure systems will push east-northeast through our area during Sunday and Monday. These storm systems will bring a couple of rounds of rain to the region. In addition, temperatures are expected to be some 30 Degrees colder on Sunday as compared to today and this is going to be a shock to the system, for sure. Sunday will be cloudy and rain is expected to overspread the entire area during the early and mid-afternoon hours. Temperatures on Sunday are expected to be in the 44 to 49 Degree range. Winds will be Northeast at 5 to 10 mph. Periods of rain is expected to continue throughout Sunday night with a much more steadier rain overspread the area towards dawn on Monday morning. Temperatures on Sunday night will be around 45 Degrees. Winds will be Northeast at 5 to 10 mph. Rain is expected to continue throughout Monday morning before it tapers off to scattered showers during Monday afternoon. High temperatures on Monday will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds will be North at 5 to 10 mph. Total rainfall amounts from Sunday afternoon through Monday are expected to average between one half of an inch (0.50”) and one inch (1.00”) across the entire area. Halloween: Tuesday looks to be a partly sunny day with high temperatures between 45 and 50 Degrees. Snow Is A Possibility For Late Tuesday Night Through Wednesday: The weather forecast becomes a lot more uncertain as we get into Tuesday night and Wednesday. The reason why is because it is expected that a coastal storm system that moves northeastward somewhere near the south coast of New England and the Cape. The track of this storm system is going to be extremely important in determining what sort of weather we see on Tuesday night and Wednesday. On one hand, some of the weather forecast guidance such as the GFS model forecasts a storm that stays well offshore leading to a cloudy, but quite chilly Tuesday night and Wednesday. On the other hand, other weather forecast guidance such as the European model is showing a more dynamic storm system that tracks just east of Nantucket during Wednesday. This is a storm track that is close enough to bring the first accumulating snow of the season across the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires late Tuesday night into Wednesday (although it doesn’t look like more than an inch or two of snow) and more of a rain-snow mix across the rest of Western and Central Mass. I think that the weather forecast guidance such as the GFS model is too progressive and way too far southeast with the track of the storm. Instead, I think we may see a storm track that’s close enough to bring the area inclement weather later Tuesday night and Wednesday. In terms of precipitation type, I think that locations in the Worcester Hills and the Berkshires that are 500 feet in elevation or higher have the greatest chance of seeing wet snow occur beginning late Tuesday night and continuing through Wednesday morning. This snow will probably change to either a rain-snow mix or all rain during Wednesday afternoon before ending during Wednesday evening. Snow amounts over areas that are 500 feet or higher in elevation may be an inch or two of slushy accumulation. At the lower elevations of Western and Central Mass, especially in the Pioneer Valley and the Blackstone Valley, the precipitation looks to be a rain-snow mix that doesn’t accumulate late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. This then changes to all rain by Wednesday afternoon. Rain then ends by Wednesday evening. While this does look like a minor snow event, it is something that’ll be watched, just in the off chance that it becomes something bigger. Low temperatures Tuesday night will be between 31 and 36 Degrees. High temperatures Wednesday will be near 40 Degrees. Black Ice Possible Wednesday Night Along With A Likely Hard Freeze: The first hard freeze of the season is likely on Wednesday night as low temperatures of 25 to 30 Degrees are expected. Additionally, residual moisture left over from the precipitation on late Tuesday night and Wednesday may be still present on roads, highways, parking lots and driveways during Wednesday night. This could lead to the possibility for areas of black ice on roads, highways, parking lots and driveways during Wednesday night. Be aware of this if you have plans on Wednesday night.

Record Warmth Expected Through Saturday Across Western & Central Mass; Much Colder Weather Next Week

For This Afternoon: Warm temperatures are expected this afternoon across the area under a mixture of sunshine and clouds. Temperatures will be between 75 and 80 Degrees, which is some 20 degrees above average for this time of year. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies are expected along with some mild temperatures. Low temperatures will be between 55 and 60 Degrees. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph. Saturday: Yet another unusually warm day is expected on Saturday under sunny to partly sunny skies. High temperatures will be near 80 Degrees. Winds will be West to Southwest at 8 to 16 mph. Sunday: A drastic weather pattern change will begin during Sunday as a rather strong cold front gradually pushes into the area. This front will probably take until late Monday before its completely through our area. In addition, an area of low pressure is expected to move along this front, which will enhance any rainfall across the region. Sunday looks cloudy and there looks to be an increase in shower activity during the afternoon. This means that isolated to scattered showers looks likely by early afternoon with widespread showers expected during the mid and late afternoon hours. High temperatures will be near 55 Degrees. Winds will be East to Northeast at 5 to 10 mph. Monday: That cold front will continue to gradually move through the area during Monday. Because of this, it is expected that some fairly widespread showers will continue throughout much of Monday. High temperatures will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Tuesday Through Next Friday: The temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday are likely to be a shock to the system, especially given the warmth of the last few days. In addition, the first hard freeze of the season looks very likely for Wednesday night. If that wasn’t enough we may have to be on the lookout for a coastal low pressure system moving through around Tuesday night and Wednesday. The track of this low pressure is going to be very important in determining whether parts of the area sees some snow or not (yes, I actually said the four letter S-word). Some of the weather forecast guidance suggests a storm track that would take the low pressure system near the Cape during the day on Wednesday. If this occurs, then a few inches of snow could occur, especially over the Berkshires and the Worcester Hills. Other weather forecast guidance points to a much further south track of the low pressure system, which would lead to a complete miss across the region. At this point, I think we may end up with the following for a forecast: Tuesday looks partly sunny with high temperatures between 45 and 50 Degrees. Bundle up your little ones for Trick-Or-Treating on Tuesday evening as temperatures will be in the 40 Degree range during the time of trick-or-treating. Turning to the overnight hours of Tuesday night, skies become cloudy and there looks to be precipitation in the form of rain and snow moving in towards dawn on Wednesday morning. Low temperatures will be near 35 Degrees. Wednesday looks unsettled with rain and snow expected. The areas that have the highest chance of seeing accumulating snow looks to be in the Worcester Hills and across the Berkshires and this is something that’ll need to be watched, for sure. High temperatures will be between 35 and 40 Degrees. Precipitation looks to end by Wednesday evening with clear to partly cloudy skies expected during the overnight hours of Wednesday night. Low temperatures will be near 30 Degrees with a hard freeze likely. Thursday and next Friday both look sunny to partly sunny. High temperatures Thursday will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. High temperatures next Friday will be near 50 Degrees.