Midnight Tuesday Night Weather Update On The Ongoing Freezing Rain Across Western & Central Mass

Freezing rain continues to fall across the entire area at the time of this post. Because of this, all surfaces are glazed over with a layer of ice making things very slippery out there right now.

The freezing rain is expected to continue for a few more hours before it comes to an end by about 3-5 am or so.

Even after the freezing rain ends, conditions are likely to remain icy across the entire area through not only sunrise this morning, but until about mid-morning or so. This means that you will need to really watch that first step going out this morning as decks, stairs, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks will all be icy. Roads & especially side streets and less traveled roads will likely still be slick right through the morning commute.

Temperatures are expected to rise to well above freezing by mid-morning and conditions will improve dramatically as all of the ice from tonight will begin to melt off. In fact, high temperatures this afternoon will be around 50 Degrees.

Unfortunately, we are probably going to have to do this all over again Thursday night as another low pressure system crosses the area leading to another round of freezing rain and sleet throughout Thursday night.

4:30 pm Tuesday Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

What a band of heavy snow that's pushing through the area right now. We've picked up about 1 inch of snow in just the last 30-45 minutes or so here in Sturbridge with some very large snowflakes falling.

That band of heavy snow will continue to traverse the rest of Central Mass over the next 30-45 minutes or so. Once this heavy snow band moves to the east, it is expected that the snow will quickly change to sleet and then freezing rain across the entire area from south to north.

The changeover from snow to sleet seems to have just occurred here in Sturbridge. This change to sleet and then freezing rain is likely to occur across areas near and south of the Mass Pike over the next hour or so.

North of the Mass Pike, the change from snow to sleet and then freezing rain is likely to occur from south to north between about 6 pm and 8 pm.

Once the precipitation changes to freezing rain, that freezing rain is expected to continue throughout all of this evening right through past midnight tonight.

It is expected that the freezing rain will end between about 3 am and 5 am Wednesday morning.

Ice amounts tonight are expected to range from one tenth (0.10") to two tenths (0.20") of an inch across the northern Worcester Hills to around one quarter of an inch (0.25") of ice across the rest of the area that are located north of the Mass Pike. For areas near and south of the Mass Pike, between one quarter (0.25") and one third (0.33") of an inch of ice is a strong possibility tonight.

Roads across the area are currently reported to be slick due to the heavy snow band that has just pushed through. Use caution if you are out and about.

I am anticipating to see very icy conditions tonight due to the expected freezing rain. This will make travel very hazardous and I urge you to exercise extreme caution if you have to go out. Also, watch that first step if going outdoors. Stairs, decks, parking lots and sidewalks will all be very icy tonight.

Snow Begins By Early Afternoon; Snow Then Changes To Freezing Rain By This Evening Across Western & Central Mass

Radar imagery and weather observations indicate that snow has begun to fall across western Connecticut as of 10:30 am. It is expected that this snow will continue expanding eastward into Western and Central Mass over the next 2-3 hours or so.

Snow looks to begin across Western Mass by about midday. The snow is then expected to begin across Central Mass by about 1 pm, if not a little earlier than that.

The snow is then expected to last through the rest of this afternoon and not begin to change to freezing rain until this evening. Also, I expect that the snow may fall at a moderate intensity at times. This means that roads will likely be slick this afternoon due to the snow & slow going commute home can be expected.

A change from snow to freezing rain looks to take place from south to north during this evening. This change to freezing rain looks to first occur across areas near and south of the Mass Pike by between 5 pm and 7 pm. The snow then looks to change to freezing rain across areas north of the Mass Pike between about 6 pm and 9 pm.

The freezing rain is then expected to continue throughout the rest of this evening & right through midnight. All freezing rain should come to an end during the predawn hours of Wednesday morning.

Snow amounts this afternoon look to average between 1 and 2 inches. Amounts of up to 3 inches are possible in the northern Worcester Hills and across the hilltowns of the Pioneer Valley.

Ice accumulations tonight look to average between one tenth (0.10") and two tenths (0.20") of an inch. Upwards of one quarter of an inch (0.25") of ice is a possibility across areas near and south of the Mass Pike.

As I already mentioned, roads this afternoon will be slippery due to the falling snow. Use caution if you are out and about and be aware that the afternoon commute is going to be a slow one.

Roads tonight are expected to be potentially quite slippery due to the icing conditions from freezing rain. Extreme caution is advised if you are going to have to be out and about on roads. Also, watch that first step when going outside as stairs, decks, sidewalks and parking lots will all be icy due to the freezing rain.