'The Little Clipper that Could'

FIRST & FINAL CALL 2/28 @ 3PM: Here is my first call for the clipper that could. This clipper will come near the coastline and really get its act together upon hitting the above normal water temperatures. We will have a legit bomb go off once the storm starts to pass Boston Harbor and head into the GOM, where it will absolutely whallop Downeast ME with well over a foot of snow. Further down south we will still deal with a fairly significant snowstorm. For areas in southern CT, RI, and SE MA; some mixing will get into the snow and warm air will flood the midlevels where it will change snow over to rain, after a start to snow. Here is where I think a general 1-3" of snow will fall from this in the beginning of the storm before most of it will actually get washed away overnight Friday into early Saturday morning. Further north you will get into a general swath of 3-6" of snowfall with a heavier band of 5-10" of snow that will encompass Worcester, Middlesex, and Essex counties. I would not at all be surprised to see of few lollies of 12" or more in this 5-10" band that extends into the Lakes and White Mountains of NH and into ME before you get to that area in DEM which could see closer to 12-18" of windwhipped snowfall that could qualify as a blizzard. You guys just can't catch a break up there. Tuesday night many areas saw 6-12" up here in NNE and then saw another 2-4" with yesterday's 'Norlun' event and now we are adding up to another 10-12" of snow on top of everything else. Amazing. Beware of snow on the roofs because we could get some heavy rains for all of New England early next week which will put a large strain on the roofs caked in snow.

BOTTOM LINE....

WHEN: Starts from SW to NE. First in western New England around 7-9PM and quickly spread east into the BOS metro area anytime between 8-10PM. It will move into NNE later after midnight. It lasts until early to mid morning on Saturday in SNE, ending around noon as a few flurries in BOS metro and later in the afternoon in ME, but DEM could see snow linger past dark, with whipping and blowing snow as well up there.

WINDS: Winds will not be the big deal in SNE, but once that storm starts to get going in the GOM, winds will be breezy after the storm departs Saturday PM in SNE, but ME will see heavy snow and wind to create near blizzard conditions in DEM. Winds could gust over 40 mph here during the peak of the storm.

IMPACT ON TRAVEL: HIGH...travel later Friday night should go downhill, but the evening commute should be fine with the snow starting after the commute in Boston, but may start in the latter part of the commute in Hartford. Late night driving and overnight and wee hours of Saturday morning will feature horrible driving condtions, barring the Cape where it will have changed to mostly rain.

CITY TO CITY FORECAST

In Massachusetts: Boston 5", Worcester 8", Acton 8", Springfield 5", Plymouth 3", Hyannis 2", Nantucket 1", Methuen 8", Lowell 7"

In Connecticut: Hartford 4", Tolland 6", Shelton 2"

In Rhode Island: Providence 3", Warwick 4", Newport 1"

In New Hampshire: Concord 7", Manchester 8", Nashua 7", North Conway 10", Laconia 9"

In Maine: Portland 8", Bangor 12", Augusta 12", Princeton 16", Caribou 10"

That is it for now...Watches should be going up at any time, probably north of the Pike later this afternoon. Something to watch for.