Heavy Rain Tuesday Night Will Be Followed By A Messy Winter Storm Late Thursday Night & Friday

For This Afternoon: A mild afternoon is expected under partly sunny skies. High temperatures this afternoon will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds this afternoon will be southwest at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: An increase in clouds is expected tonight with low temperatures near 30 Degrees. Winds tonight will be south at about 5 mph. Tuesday: A warm front is expected to push northward across Southern New England during Tuesday. Skies throughout the day on Tuesday will be cloudy and there’s expected to be some scattered rain showers during the afternoon. High temperatures on Tuesday will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds on Tuesday will be easterly at 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday Night: An area of low pressure is expected to track across northern New England during Tuesday night bringing with it a round of heavy rain. Steady rain will overspread Western and Central Mass between about 5 pm and 7 pm Tuesday. That rain will be heavy at times throughout Tuesday evening. The rain is expected to diminish in intensity and come to an end well after midnight Tuesday night. All rain will be done by 3-4 am 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. Temperatures on Tuesday night will be near 50 Degrees. Winds on Tuesday night will be southwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Wednesday: It looks like Wednesday will be a very mild day under a mixture of sunshine and clouds. There could be some scattered rain showers during Wednesday afternoon as a cold front moves through the area. High temperatures Wednesday will be between 60 and 65 Degrees. Winds on Wednesday will be southwest at 10 to 20 mph. 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 Messy Winter Storm Is Expected 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 a “thump” of heavy snow late Thursday night and Friday morning that will be followed by a change to sleet and freezing rain for Friday afternoon. Snow is expected to begin across all of Western and Central Mass a little after midnight on Thursday night. The snow will then become moderate to heavy in intensity at times from late Thursday night into Friday morning. It’s not out of the question that snow rates of at least 1 inch per hour could be occurring during the Friday morning commute. It looks likely that a change from snow to sleet and freezing rain will occur from south to north across all of Western and Central Mass beginning along and south of the Mass Pike around mid-morning Friday. The changeover line from snow to sleet and freezing rain may then reach the Route 2 corridor around midday Friday. Sleet and freezing rain may then continue into Friday afternoon before it changes back to light snow everywhere by late Friday afternoon. All snow with this storm system is currently expected to end by early Friday evening. My Early Thoughts On Snow Amounts Are that they may range from 6 to 8 inches along and south of Route 9 in Central Mass, as well as across the middle and lower Pioneer Valley of Western Mass to 8 to 12 inches of snow for areas north of Route 9 in Central Mass, as well as across the upper Pioneer Valley of Western Mass and across the Berkshires. Early Thoughts On Ice Accumulations Are that up to one tenth of an inch of ice is possible across the lower Pioneer Valley and across areas near and south of the Mass Pike. Across the middle and upper Pioneer Valley and across areas north of the Mass Pike, less than one tenth of an inch of ice is possible. With that said, the ice amounts from the freezing rain near and south of the Mass Pike will need to be watched closely as there’s a possibility there could be a burst of moderate to heavy freezing rain late Friday morning and early Friday afternoon. Should this become more of a likelihood, my forecast ice amounts may have to be revised upward. I will continue to keep a very close eye on this late week storm and will have updates for you as needed. Saturday & Sunday: Saturday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures near 30 Degrees. As for Sunday, we may have to keep an eye on a storm system that could track close enough to our area to bring us even more snow during the day on Sunday. At this point, it’s way too early to get into more details than this, but it is a system to certainly keep an eye on. High temperatures Sunday will be near 30 Degrees.