Freezing Rain, Sleet & Some Snow Is Expected Tomorrow Night Into Friday Morning Across Western & Central Mass (Posted at 12:15 pm Wednesday 3/4/2026)

After a really nice afternoon with lots of sunshine and temperatures around 50 Degrees, it appears that we are probably going to have a real mess on our hands in terms of freezing rain, sleet & snow tomorrow night into Friday morning.

An area of low pressure is expected to track to the south of Long Island during tomorrow night. As it does so, it will pull down some cold air from the north while it precipitates outside. This, in turn, will lead to rain to change to freezing rain and then sleet from north to south during tomorrow evening. A changeover to snow is a possibility late tomorrow night across areas near and north of Route 9.

So, this is how it could unfold tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow night & Friday morning across the region -

FOR AREAS NEAR & SOUTH OF THE MASS PIKE:

Rain looks likely during tomorrow afternoon as temperatures fall through the 30s.

This rain looks to change to freezing rain during tomorrow evening with this changeover occurring between about 6 pm and 8 pm as temperatures fall to below freezing.

Temperatures then look to continue falling into mid and upper 20s during tomorrow night. This means that freezing rain is likely to continue for several hours tomorrow evening before it changes to sleet around or just after midnight tomorrow night.

Sleet then looks to continue during the after midnight hours of tomorrow night through sunrise Friday morning. The sleet then looks to end between about 7 & 9 am Friday morning.

The melt off of ice from the freezing rain will be much slower on Friday due to temperatures only rising to about 35 Degrees.

Ice amounts from the freezing rain looks to average at least one quarter (0.25”) of an inch with the possibility of upwards of one third (0.33”) to one-half (0.50”) of an inch of ice possible.

Sleet amounts may average up to one-half of an inch.

Needless to say, icy conditions on roads can be expected starting as soon as 6 pm tomorrow and continuing through all of tomorrow night. Additionally, decks, stairs, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks will also be very icy tomorrow night - so, watch that first step when going outside. These icy conditions look to persist through Friday morning.

Also, the buildup of ice on trees and powerlines tomorrow night may lead to some tree limbs and power lines to come down. Isolated power outages are a possibility.

FOR AREAS NORTH OF THE MASS PIKE:

Intermittent periods of light rain can be expected during tomorrow afternoon while temperatures fall through the 30s.

This rain looks to change to freezing rain sometime between 5 pm and 7 pm tomorrow as temperatures fall to below freezing.

Temperatures then look to continue falling into mid and upper 20s during tomorrow night. This means that freezing rain is likely to continue for a few hours tomorrow evening before it changes to sleet by about 8-10 pm or so tomorrow night.

Sleet then looks to continue through & past midnight tomorrow night. A changeover from sleet to snow may then occur around dawn Friday morning across areas near and north of Route 9.

A sleet & snow mix will then come to an end between about 7 & 9 am Friday morning.

The melt off of ice from the freezing rain will be much slower on Friday due to temperatures only rising to about 35 Degrees.

Ice amounts from the freezing rain looks to average around one quarter (0.25”) of an inch or so.

Snow & sleet amounts may average between 1 and 2 inches, especially for areas near and north of Route 9.

Needless to say, icy conditions on roads can be expected starting as soon as 5 pm tomorrow and continuing through all of tomorrow night. Additionally, decks, stairs, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks will also be very icy tomorrow night - so, watch that first step when going outside. These icy conditions look to persist through Friday morning.

Also, the buildup of ice on trees and powerlines tomorrow night may lead to some tree limbs and power lines to come down. Isolated power outages are a possibility.