What an absolutely disgusting morning out there with freezing rain with some sleet and even snow mixed in at times across the region.
As of 9 am, I have received a total of 4.5 inches of snow with some sleet mixed in there here in Sturbridge.
Temperatures have been very slow to warm up across the area, as I thought would probably occur due to the cold air that's locked into the place across the area. As of 9 am, temperatures have risen to the mid 20s across northern Worcester County to the upper 20s across southern parts of Worcester County. This rise in temperatures is going to be crucial in determining whether the freezing rain changes to rain or not this afternoon.
Freezing rain with some sleet mixed in is expected to continue across the entire area throughout the rest of this morning.
During this afternoon, the temperatures should just barely warm up enough so that the freezing rain will change to some rain for a while across eastern and southern Worcester County as well as across the middle and lower Pioneer Valley.
Across the Worcester Hills west of I-190 and across the Berkshires, it appears that temperatures may remain below freezing all afternoon long leading to freezing rain to continue. Ice amounts in this area are likely to be around one-half of an inch with some snapped tree limbs and power lines likely leading to isolated to scattered power outages.
Rain and freezing rain will come to an end between 8 pm and 10 pm this evening.
My recommendation to you is to stay off of the roads, if you absolutely do not have to travel, today into early tonight. Travel conditions are going to continue to be downright treacherous due to the combination of freezing rain and sleet. Even when the freezing rain changes to rain this afternoon across southern and eastern Worcester County and the Pioneer Valley, the ground is still very cold and because of that, the rain will still likely freeze on contact even when air temperatures are above freezing.
Once the precipitation ends, it is expected to become VERY windy by between 10 pm and midnight tonight. Very windy conditions are then expected to continue through the rest of the night tonight right through all day Monday. West winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to at least 60 mph are expected during this time period and these strong winds will lead to tree damage and the power outages, especially across the Berkshires and across the Worcester Hills west of I-190 where ice buildup on trees and power lines will make them susceptible to being brought down.
More storm updates will be sent out as needed today.
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