An Active Upcoming Week Of Weather Is Expected Across Western & Central Mass

For This Afternoon: An area of high pressure is expected to push eastward this afternoon. This means that skies this afternoon will be partly sunny with high temperatures between 30 and 35 Degrees. Winds this afternoon will be southwest at 7 to 14 mph with gusts to 20 to 25 mph. Tonight: A southwesterly wind flow on the backside of that high pressure system will lead to a night that’s not as cold as last night. Skies tonight will be partly cloudy with low temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees. Winds tonight will be southwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Monday: A partly sunny and mild day is expected across the entire area. High temperatures Monday will be near 50 Degrees. Winds on Monday will be southwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Tuesday & Tuesday Night: The first of two storms is expected to affect the area during Tuesday and Tuesday as an area of low pressure moves across northern New England. This storm track will put Western and Central Mass on the mild side of this system with all rain expected. Rain is expected to gradually overspread Western and Central Mass during the early and mid-afternoon hours of Tuesday. The rain, which is expected to be heavy at times, is then expected to continue through a large part of Tuesday night before ending Wednesday morning. Total rainfall amounts of around one inch is expected across the entire area. As for flood concerns, I think that street, poor drainage and basement flooding will be a threat, especially during the first half of Tuesday night. River or stream flooding is not expected. High temperatures Tuesday will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Temperatures on Tuesday night will be between 45 and 50 Degrees. Wednesday: Any leftover steady rain will be done by mid-morning Wednesday with the rest of the day remaining cloudy. There could be some scattered rain showers during Wednesday afternoon as a cold front moves through the area. It’s expected to be quite mild on Wednesday with high temperatures around 60 Degrees. Thursday: A much colder day is expected on Thursday as we await the second storm system that’ll affect our area late Thursday night through Friday. Skies on Thursday will be a mixture of sunshine and clouds with high temperatures near 35 Degrees. A Winter Storm Is Possible For Late Thursday Night Through Friday: An area of low pressure is expected to track northeastward towards the area on Thursday night and then track near the south coast of New England during the day on Friday. This storm has the potential to bring more than enough snow to plow, along with a mixture of sleet and freezing rain added in. Snow looks to begin across the entire area well after midnight Thursday night and then continue through all of Friday morning. The forecast then becomes more tricky as it’s uncertain as to how far north the snow-mix line will push into the area. Some of the weather forecast guidance indicates that we could change to freezing rain and sleet all the way to the border with New Hampshire. Other weather forecast guidance is colder and keeps areas north of Route 9 all snow with mixed precipitation occurring during the afternoon near and south of Route 9. My thinking at this point is that the changeover line from snow to sleet and freezing rain may push northward through the Route 9 corridor by early afternoon Friday and then as far north as Route 2 by mid-afternoon Friday. This mixture of sleet and freezing rain may persist through late Friday afternoon before it changes back to light snow everywhere by early Friday evening. All snow with this storm system is currently expected to end around midnight Friday night. My Early Thoughts On Snow, Sleet & Ice Amounts Are that 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulations looks very possible across all of Western and Central Mass. Some very light sleet accumulations are possible Friday afternoon with ice amounts of less than one tenth of an inch possible across the entire area. I will be keeping a close eye on the late week storm and will have updates for you as needed. March Comes In Like A Lion: All indications are that March is going to come roaring in like a lion. It looks possible that a significant winter storm could affect the area around the first 2 to 3 days of March. If that wasn’t enough, some of the weather forecast guidance are pointing to the possibility of 2 additional winter storm threats during the first 10 days of March. Finally, it looks very likely that the first half of March will be cold and stormy with below average temperatures and above average snowfall. Hang on tight, winter is not even close to being over.