FIRST WINTER STORM TO FORECAST FOR NEW ENGLAND

A major winter storm is developing and will affect much of the eastern part of the US. There will be a wide swath of significant snow from Kansas through Missouri, Illinois, the Ohio Valley, Pennsylvania, Upstate New York, and into central and northern New England. All these places are in line for a very significant snowstorm on the order of about 4"+. If this area of significant snow makes it into southern New England, it is still yet to be seen. First of all, it will be very mild tomorrow with highs in the low 50's. Don't get used to it. A backdoor cold front moves through Saturday with a snow shower North and a rain shower South, bringing temperatures back to the lower 40's and falling through the 30's during the afternoon. Sunday will be chilly here with highs in the mid - upper 30's. Storm clouds will be moving in during the afternoon. In San Diego, the Patriots will see nice weather with highs in the mid 60's. Another great day to play football. Then it gets very interesting around here.

My early call is that areas north of the MA/NH border will see mostly snow out of this entire system, areas north of the Mass Pike will see a mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow during the storm. Right now it could be either of these. I would favor more of a snow/sleet situation north of Route 2. More of a messy mix between Route 2 and the Pike. South of the Pike, I think that there will be mostly rain, but all areas are fair game for a quick change to all snow at the tail end of the storm, maybe with some accumulating snow. Northern New England, you got your wish. Skiing will be great with many areas getting a moderate to heavy snowstorm with 6-10" of snow, preliminary, especially heavy in central Vermont and central New Hampshire. Conway, NH could see some of the heaviest accumulations out of this one. Northern New England will not have precipitation issues as highs on Monday here will be in the upper 10's, far NNE, to mid 20's. SNE will be more borderline from the upper 20's in southern New Hampshire, lower 30's north of the Pike to mid - upper 30's with a chilly rain south of the Pike.

Expect changes with this storm and I will post them in the days ahead as we have tons of time before this thing is even here.