Light Snow Expected Late Tonight Into Christmas Eve Morning Across Much Of Western & Central Mass

For This Afternoon: An area of high pressure will continue to control our weather during this afternoon. This means that sunny to partly sunny skies can be expected this afternoon with temperatures near 30 Degrees. Tonight & Christmas Eve: An area of low pressure is expected to move across the region later tonight and Christmas Eve morning. Light snow is expected to overspread Western and Central Mass late tonight between about 1 am and 3 am or so. The light snow is then expected to continue into Christmas Eve morning before ending just before midday. Snow amounts of around one inch or so can be expected across all of Western and Central Mass. Clearing is then expected during Christmas Eve afternoon with temperatures expected to be near 35 Degrees. Christmas Day & Sunday: The forecast for Christmas Day and Sunday continues to be uncertain as there are many moving atmospheric parts to figure out. A weak piece of atmospheric energy is expected to push through the area during Christmas morning. It now appears that we may have to keep an eye on the potential for some light freezing rain or freezing drizzle during Christmas morning across much of the area. In fact, that freezing rain and freezing drizzle threat may persist in the Worcester Hills and across the Hilltowns of Western Mass well into the afternoon hours of Christmas. This is something that will need to be watched closely and be aware that slippery conditions are a possibility during at least Christmas Morning. An area of low pressure is expected to move across the area during the very late afternoon and evening hours of Christmas. The weather forecast guidance has trended towards a scenario of the low pressure center staying north of our area. Because of this, it appears that the precipitation on Christmas night into Sunday morning will be more in the form of rain. Although, I am going to be keeping a very close eye on the Worcester Hills and the Hilltowns of Western Mass where a northerly wind may try to dam up the cold air leading to a continued threat for freezing rain on Christmas Night and Sunday morning. This is not a sure thing at all, but it is something that certainly warrants close scrutiny. Any leftover precipitation may end as some light snow early Sunday afternoon with increasingly gusty northwest winds as that storm system pulls away. Next Week’s Weather Outlook: At this point, it looks like Monday and Tuesday will feature at least some partial sunshine with highs near 35 Degrees. During the middle and later parts of next week, we’re going to be watching for the possibility of either one storm or a couple of storm systems to move through. At this point, it’s way too soon to tell what type of precipitation may fall from the sky. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is in such a large state of chaos and flux right now that the weather forecast guidance all show different scenarios from a snow and ice event to an all rain event on Wednesday and Thursday. In addition to this, we may also be looking at a storm system to bring weather impacts in the form of snow to ice to rain for New Year’s Day. Definitely something to keep a close eye on.