Downright Ugly & Miserable Weather Is Expected Tonight Into Thursday Across Western & Central Mass

Forecast For Southern Worcester County & The Connecticut River Valley (Includes Mass Pike, I-84, I-395, Route 146, I-91 & Springfield Metro): It looks like a downright miserable night thanks to rain, sleet, snow, raw and very windy conditions.

Rain mixed with sleet has been occurring all afternoon and I expect that a mix of rain and sleet will continue into this evening. As we head towards midnight, it looks likely that a change to all sleet with the sleet falling heavily at times can be expected. Sleet mixed with snow at times will then continues through the after midnight hours of tonight with the precipitation falling at a heavy intensity at times. It will be very windy throughout tonight with east winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Sleet mixed with snow at times looks to persist through Thursday morning before it gradually ends during Thursday afternoon. It will continue to be windy throughout the day on Thursday with northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-45 mph in the morning and north winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph in the afternoon.

Snow & Sleet Amounts: My latest thinking is that snow amounts will range from less than one inch for the lower Pioneer Valley of Western Mass, including the Springfield metro to 1 to 2 inches of slushy snow and sleet for the middle and upper Pioneer Valley of Western Mass as well as for areas near and south of the Mass Pike, including I-84, I-395 and Route 146.

Forecast For Central Worcester County (Includes I-290, Route 9 & Worcester Metro): It looks like a downright miserable night thanks to rain, sleet, snow, raw and very windy conditions.

A mix of rain and sleet has been occurring all afternoon and I expect that a change to all sleet with some snow mixed in will occur during this evening. As we head towards midnight and throughout the after midnight hours, it looks like a mix of sleet and snow will occur, which likely will change to all snow at times. This snow and sleet tonight will fall at a heavy rate at times. It will be very windy throughout tonight with east winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Snow mixed with sleet at times likely will persist throughout Thursday morning before it gradually ends during Thursday afternoon. It will continue to be windy throughout the day on Thursday with northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-45 mph in the morning and north winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph in the afternoon.

Snow & Sleet Amounts: My latest thinking is that snow and sleet amounts will range from 2 to 3 inches across areas north of the Mass Pike, including the Worcester Metro, the Route 9 corridor and I-290. Areas on the north side of Worcester and around Worcester airport could end up with 3 to 4 inches of snow and sleet.

Forecast For Northern Worcester County & The Berkshires (Includes Route 2 & The I-190 Corridor North Of Worcester): Rain and sleet is expected to change to snow with some sleet mixed in during this evening. Mostly all snow is then expected from about midnight tonight through the after midnight hours of tonight. The snow and sleet is expected to fall at a heavy intensity at times during tonight. In addition to this, it is expected to be very windy throughout tonight with east winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Snow mixed at times with sleet will persist throughout Thursday morning before it gradually comes to an end during Thursday afternoon. It will also continue to be windy throughout Thursday with northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph in the morning and north winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph in the afternoon.

Snow & Sleet Amounts: My thinking is that snow and sleet amounts will range from about 4 to 5 inches of snow and sleet around Holden, Paxton and Rutland to 5 to 7 inches of snow and sleet for areas around Princeton and Barre to 7 to 8 inches of snow and sleet for areas near Route 2 to upwards of 8 to 10 inches of snow and sleet for areas that are north of Route 2. As for the Berkshires, it appears that snow and sleet totals will range from 3 to 6 inches across the southern Berkshires to 6 to 10 inches across the northern Berkshires.

This wet and heavy snow combined with the very windy conditions tonight and Thursday is likely to lead to downed trees and power lines leading to power outage issues.

Rain Through Wed; Mixed Rain, Sleet & Snow Over Central & Southern Worcester County & The Pioneer Valley Wed Night & Thu; Snow & Sleet Over Northern Worcester County & The Berkshires Wed Night & Thu

Forecast For Southern & Central Worcester County & The Connecticut River Valley (Includes Mass Pike, I-290, I-84, I-395, Route 146, I-91, Springfield Metro & Worcester Metro): It is expected to rain for several hours this evening before it ends for a while during the after midnight hours of tonight into the first part of Wednesday morning.

Rain will begin again by the mid and late morning hours of Wednesday with the rain continuing through Wednesday afternoon. Some sleet and snow will mix in with the rain by about late Wednesday afternoon. It will become increasingly more windy during Wednesday with northeast winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph.

Turning to Wednesday night, it appears that some colder air will drain down into the region as that coastal storm strengthens. Because of this, it appears that a mix of snow, sleet and rain can be expected throughout Wednesday night and it may come down heavily at times. In fact, a flip to all snow and sleet is possible at times, especially when the precipitation is falling at a heavy rate. In addition to this, it is expected to be very windy on Wednesday night with northeast winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph.

Thursday looks as if we’ll see a mix of rain, sleet and snow throughout the day with the precipitation coming to an end during Thursday evening. It will also continue to be very windy throughout Thursday with north to northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph.

Rainfall Amounts: Looks like around 2 inches of rainfall in total can be expected through Thursday with most of that falling from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night.

Snow & Sleet Amounts: This continues to be the most difficult part of the forecast as the atmosphere is going to be marginal at best to support accumulating snow and sleet. That said, heavy mixed precipitation at times on Wednesday night could lead to an accumulation of snow and sleet to occur.

My thinking is that snow amounts will range from less than one inch for the lower Pioneer Valley of Western Mass, including the Springfield metro to 1 to 2 inches of slushy snow for the middle and upper Pioneer Valley of Western Mass as well as for areas near and south of the Mass Pike, including I-84, I-395 and Route 146.

For areas north of the Mass Pike, including the Worcester Metro, the Route 9 corridor and I-290, snow amounts of 2 to 3 inches seem possible. The exception may be around the north side of Worcester and up by Worcester airport where 3 to 4 inches of wet snow could occur.

Forecast For Northern Worcester County & The Berkshires (Includes Route 2 & The I-190 Corridor North Of Worcester): It is expected to rain for several hours this evening before it ends for a while during the after midnight hours of tonight into the first part of Wednesday morning.

Rain will begin again by the mid and late morning hours of Wednesday with the rain becoming a mix of rain, sleet and snow during Wednesday afternoon. It will become increasingly more windy during Wednesday with northeast winds of 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph.

Turning to Wednesday night, it appears that some colder air will drain down into the region as that coastal storm strengthens. Because of this, it appears that a mix of snow and sleet can be expected throughout Wednesday night and it may come down heavily at times. In addition to this, it is expected to be very windy on Wednesday night with northeast winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph.

Thursday looks as if we’ll see a mix of snow and sleet throughout the day with the precipitation coming to an end during Thursday evening. It will also continue to be very windy throughout Thursday with north to northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40-50 mph.

Snow & Sleet Amounts: The snow and sleet accumulation forecast continues to be a very difficult one as the atmosphere is going to be marginal at best to support accumulating snow and sleet. That said, heavy snow and sleet at times on Wednesday night could lead to several inches of wet, heavy snow to occur.

My thinking is that snow amounts will range from about 4 to 5 inches of snow around Holden, Paxton, Rutland, Princeton and Barre to 5 to 8 inches of snow near and especially north of the Route 2 corridor. As for the Berkshires, it appears that snow totals of 6 to 10 inches can be expected.

This wet and heavy snow combined with the very windy conditions on Wednesday night and Thursday is likely to lead to downed trees and power lines leading to power outage issues.

Rain Tuesday Afternoon Through Thursday Across Central & Southern Worcester County & The Connecticut River Valley; Snow, Sleet & Rain Across Northern Worcester County & The Berkshires Wed Through Thu

For Tonight: Generally cloudy skies are expected throughout tonight. Low temperatures will be between 35 and 40 Degrees. Winds will be West to Northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday: A strong low pressure system is expected to move into the Great Lakes region. This low pressure system is a lot stronger than what was thought a couple of days ago and because of this, it’ll be able to pull in more milder air and thus most of the precipitation will be rain across much of the region. The exception looks to be across the northern parts of Worcester County and across the Berkshires where a very wet snow will occur, especially during Wednesday night into Thursday.

Cloudy skies are expected throughout the day on Tuesday. Rain is expected to overspread the area during the early and mid-afternoon hours and then continue through the late afternoon hours.

High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees. Winds will be Northeast at 5 to 10 mph in the morning and Northeast at 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night: Rain is expected to continue throughout Tuesday night and some snow and sleet will mix in with the rain at times across the Berkshires and across the northern Worcester Hills.

Low temperatures will be near 35 Degrees. Winds will be East at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Wednesday Through Thursday: The forecast for snow for parts of the area is no April Fools’ joke and unfortunately, it is very true.

A long duration storm is expected to bring a combination of heavy rain with renewed flood issues across the area, snow and sleet across northern parts of Worcester County and the Berkshires and very windy conditions from Wednesday through Thursday.

Rain Across Central & Southern Worcester County & The Connecticut River Valley: Rain is expected throughout Wednesday, Wednesday night and Thursday across areas of Central Mass that are near and south of the Mass Pike, as well as across the entire Connecticut River Valley/I-91 corridor.

For areas of Central Mass that are north of the Mass Pike, while rain looks to be generally the main precipitation type throughout Wednesday, Wednesday night and Thursday, sleet and snow will probably mix in with the snow at times, especially in the higher elevations. The higher in elevation you are located at, the more of a mixing with snow and sleet you’ll see.

Current expectations are for around 2 inches of total rainfall to occur across the entire area.

Snow & Sleet Across Northern Worcester County & The Berkshires: The forecast of how much snow and sleet will occur across the region is a very difficult one as the air mass with this storm is very marginal to produce all snow, but instead this looks like a mixed bag of snow, sleet, rain and even freezing rain across the northern Worcester Hills and the Berkshires.

This all means that a mix of very wet snow and sleet will occur throughout Wednesday and Wednesday night across the northern Worcester Hills and probably will reach as far south as Barre, Princeton, Holden and Rutland. Even areas as far south as the north side of Worcester and airport hill in Worcester will probably change to sleet and snow at times during Wednesday and Wednesday night.

Turning to Thursday, periods of sleet and snow will continue through much of Thursday across the northern Worcester Hills and the Berkshires.

As far as accumulations, this is tough as it will be a very marginal air mass to produce all snow.

My thinking is for snow totals from Wednesday through Thursday across Central Mass may range from 3 inches around Princeton and Barre to possibly as much as 6 inches of very wet and heavy snow across areas near and especially north of Route 2. Areas in the Berkshires may end up with upwards of 4 to 8 inches of very wet and heavy snow.

Areas a little further south towards Holden, Rutland and Paxton, snow totals of 1 to 3 inches are possible with even about an inch or two possible for the north side of Worcester and around airport hill in Worcester.

Very Windy Conditions: This storm is also expected to bring some very windy conditions, especially during Wednesday night. These strong winds combined with the pasty very wet and heavy snow across the northern Worcester Hills and the Berkshires is likely to lead to downed trees and power lines causing power outage issues.

Winds during Wednesday will be East at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35-40 mph. Winds on Wednesday night will be East at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50-55 mph. Winds on Thursday will be Northeast at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

Friday Through Sunday: That low pressure system will be slow to move away. Because of this, unsettled weather is likely to persist through Friday and Saturday.

Friday looks cloudy with scattered showers. High temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees.

Saturday is also expected to be cloudy with some scattered showers around. High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

Sunday looks partly sunny, especially during the afternoon. High temperatures will be between 45 and 50 Degrees.

Solar Eclipse Forecast For Next Monday: The weather forecast for next Monday’s solar eclipse is looking pretty decent. While we will not see full totality here in Western & Central Mass, we will see anywhere between 92% and 94% totality with the peak of the eclipse occurring between 3:25 pm and 3:30 pm.

An area of high pressure looks to build over New England for next Monday leading to quiet weather. The big question is how much cloud cover will there be and this is a difficult forecast for a week away. I will say that the weather pattern does definitely favor the possibility of quite a bit of sunshine for next Monday.

Anyone planning on traveling north or west to see totality should know that northern New York State, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northern Maine could be favorable to see the total eclipse of the sun. Areas across western New York State and northwestern Pennsylvania may end up with a mixture of clouds and sun, which could mean a touch and go situation with the eclipse.

Be sure to keep checking back as we get closer to eclipse day.