A Major Winter Storm Is Looking Increasingly More Likely For Late Sunday Night Through All Day Monday Across Western & Central Mass

I will be posting a full detailed forecast along with a snow forecast map concerning the Sunday night & especially Monday major winter storm sometime tomorrow (Saturday). Until then, here are some quick updates based on the latest data:

The latest weather data that is now coming in seems to be now pointing towards the increasingly likelihood of a major winter storm bringing both heavy snow & strong winds to all of Western and Central Mass beginning on Sunday night and lasting through all day Monday. This storm then looks to come to an end sometime Monday evening.

I am increasing my earlier forecast snow totals.

Snow totals now look to range from 8 to 12 inches across Western Mass to 12 to 16 inches of snow accumulation across Central Mass. Most of this snow is expected to accumulate from just before dawn Monday morning through all day Monday with frequently heavy to very heavy snow intensity. Snow rates of at least 1 to 3 inches per hour can be expected for many consecutive hours during the day on Monday.

Additionally, the snow will be accompanied by North to Northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts of up to 40-50 mph. This will lead to very significant amounts of blowing and drifting snow & the possibility of blizzard conditions at times.

It goes without saying that travel throughout the day on Monday may be extremely difficult due to heavy falling snow and very significant blowing and drifting snow.

If there is any good news - All day Saturday & all day Sunday look fine in terms of weather as the snow will not begin until around midnight Sunday night & conditions will not become extremely bad until sunrise Monday morning.

Frequent updates on this expected major winter storm will be posted here all weekend long. So, keep checking back for the latest.

8 pm Friday Evening Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

Mixed precipitation in the form of snow, sleet & freezing rain will change back to snow across all of Western and Central Mass over the next couple of hours or so.

Once the precipitation changes to all snow, I expect to see on & off snow until just before sunrise Saturday morning when it is expected to end.

Additional snow amounts tonight of 1 to 2 inches or so can be expected across the entire area, although those 2 inch additional amounts will probably occur in the northern Worcester Hills.

Temperatures tonight will remain in the upper 20s to near 30 Degrees through midnight & then fall to near 25 Degrees by sunrise Saturday morning.

Once the snow ends towards sunrise Saturday morning, I will begin to fully cover a potentially significant & quite possibly major winter storm that begins around midnight Sunday night & lasts through all day Monday before ending Monday evening. The latest weather data seems to be pointing more and more towards this being a very big deal in terms of a winter storm across all of Western and Central Mass.

For now, I’m going kind of conservative in terms of a snowfall forecast. This means that, for now, I'm thinking snow totals will range from 3 to 6 inches across Western Mass to 6 to 12 inches across Central Mass. Most of this snow will occur from just before dawn Monday morning through all day Monday. This snow will be accompanied by North to Northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph leading to quite a bit in the way of blowing and drifting snow.

I want to strongly emphasize that my forecast snow totals may need to be increased significantly should later data confirm the idea of a major winter storm.

Finally, both all day Saturday and all day Sunday look fine in terms of weather as the snow will not begin until around midnight Sunday night.

Many, many more updates on this potential storm will be posted throughout this weekend. So, keep checking back!!!

Snow, Sleet & Freezing Rain Expected This Afternoon Into Tonight Across Western & Central Mass; A Nor'Easter Really Needs To Be Watched For Snow Impacts Sunday Night Through Monday

Radar imagery and weather reports indicate that snow has begun across all of Western Mass as of the time of this posting. This is a decent burst of snow with reports of moderate snow falling.

It has actually just begun snowing here in Sturbridge at the time of this post & it will likely begin snowing across the rest of Central Mass over the next hour or two. Once it begins to snow, it'll probably fall at a moderate intensity at times. Be aware that roads will likely become slick rather quickly shortly after the snow begins, especially where the snow will come down at a moderate intensity. Because of this, use caution if you are out and about.

The snow still looks to mix with sleet and freezing rain beginning about mid-afternoon across areas near and south of the Mass Pike. For areas north of the Mass Pike, the snow will begin to mix with freezing rain and sleet by late afternoon. Areas near and north of Route 2 probably will stay as all snow throughout this entire storm.

A change back to all snow is expected across the entire area during this evening. The snow is then expected to come to an end across the entire area by just before sunrise Saturday morning.

Snow amounts of 1 to 2 inches are expected for areas near and south of the Mass Pike. 2 to 4 inches of snow accumulation look likely across areas north of the Mass Pike. It should be noted that areas near and north of Route 2 may end up with 4 to 6 inches of snow accumulation.

FINALLY, I continue to keep very close tabs on the potential Nor'Easter that looks increasingly more likely for Sunday night through Monday. Weather forecast guidance are trending away from a complete miss & more towards either a storm that brings a light to moderate snowfall or a storm that is a major snowstorm with a lot of wind across the entire area. These trends are going to have to be watched very closely as the low pressure system with the snow on Sunday night & Monday will be very intense. Because of this, this could be a major snowstorm with a lot of blowing and drifting snow if it tracks close to our area. There seems to be three possible scenarios with this storm:

SCENARIO NUMBER 1 WHICH HAS A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF OCCURRING: The low pressure system tracks just south and east of Nantucket. This would lead to a light to moderate sized snowfall on the order of 2 to 4 inches or 3 to 6 inches from Sunday night through all day Monday.

SCENARIO NUMBER 2 WHICH NOW HAS A 45 PERCENT CHANCE OF OCCURRING: This would be the big snowstorm scenario where low pressure tracks very near, if not right over the Cape and Nantucket. In this scenario, it’d be a classic major snowstorm that dumps 1 to 2 feet of snow & is accompanied by a lot of wind with considerable blowing and drifting snow across all of Western and Central Mass.

SCENARIO NUMBER 3 WHICH NOW HAS A 5 PERCENT CHANCE OF OCCURRING IS for the low pressure system to track completely out to sea leading to no snow at all across the entire area.

This is definitely a storm that's going to need to be watched very closely in the coming days. So, keep checking back for the latest.