A Significant Winter Storm Is Expected To Impact Western & Especially Central Mass Throughout Monday & Monday Night With Snow Lasting Into Tuesday. Low pressure is expected to track very slowly from near the Virginia coast late tonight and Monday morning to near Nantucket by Tuesday. This track would put the heaviest snow accumulations right into central and eastern Worcester County. Snow is expected to begin across areas along and south of the Mass Pike between 6 and 8 am Monday morning. North of the Mass Pike, snow is expected to begin between 8 and 10 am Monday morning. The snow will become moderate to heavy at times between about 1 and 3 pm Monday afternoon. This means that heavy snow with 1 to 2 inch per hour snow rates is likely during the Monday evening commute, especially across Central Mass. Heavy snow with up to 2 inch per hour snowfall rates is likely to continue across primarily Central Mass throughout Monday evening and this means that the snow totals are likely to add up quickly across a large part of Central Mass. The snow is expected to lighten up in intensity after midnight Monday night with intermittent light snow expected during Tuesday. For Western Mass, it appears that the downsloping winds off of the Worcester Hills will lead to a snow hole of sorts in the Pioneer Valley. So, while Central Mass will see double digit snow totals, the Pioneer Valley looks to end up with amounts that range from 6 inches in the upper Pioneer Valley to 8 inches in the lower Pioneer Valley. Our forecast snow total map is attached to this post. This is expected to be a fairly wet and heavy snow, so please use extreme care when shoveling and snow blowing. In addition to the snow, north to northeast winds are expected to gust up to 30 to 40 mph at times throughout Monday and Monday night. These gusty winds will lead to blowing and drifting of the snow.
