Winter Storm Watches for NH, VT, and ME

A winter storm watch has been posted for much of VT, NH, and all of ME except eastern portions of the state. Here, it is looking likely that there will be significant snow and ice (sleet) accumulations to the tune of 6"+.

I will be posting my final forecast and snowfall map tomorrow afternoon after baseball practice, so stay tuned...

Coldest Forecast in a While

Happy April Fool's Day everyone. My forecast is no joke though. We are about to enter an early to mid December winter pattern with highs struggling to get out of the lower 40's with a stiff NE breeze most of this week. Today is the last normal spring day with highs approaching 60 at this 1PM hour. Tonight the rain is moving in for all of New England and will become heavy at times for much of us. All said and done, we will likely see up to an inch of rain in SNE, but in Maine there may be some accumulating snow tonight as the rain transitions to snow overnight with cold air draining into the six state region for the entirety of the upcoming week and perhaps beyond. With regards to the snow in Maine, NW Maine may see anywhere between 3-6" of snow tonight, especially in the higher elevations with 1-3" possible in Augusta and Bangor. That will be quite a shock to the system waking up tomorrow moring in Maine to a fresh blanket of white on the ground with highs not getting out of the lower to middle 30's up there tomorrow. It is going to be miserable New England spring weather at its best. The snow will redevelop in Maine overnight tomorrow night and deposit another several inches of snow to the state and NW Maine in the highest elevations could wind up with 9-12" of snow with 3-6" possible in much of the rest of the state.

The cold, rain, and snow does not stop there. Tuesday we may see a break with drizzly conditions and temperatures in the 30's North and 40's South. Wednesday could get very interesting with a storm developing along the eastern seaboard and could be making its way up the coast to deliver much of New England a swath of heavy wet snow. This will be something to monitor, but for now I am going for mostly rain in SNE for it is April now and snow is not usually favored, but this year I would bet that my lawn up here NW of Boston will be snowcovered once again before summer truly settles in with highs in the 80's the latter half of this month.

Before that, our chances of snow do continue with 2-3 more shots at potential significant winter weather events from late week on through the week after Easter. We could have snow on the ground for Easter. Wouldn't that be amazing!

More on this cold springtime weather later and I will have any developments on the possible snows this week and beyond in the upcoming posts.

UPDATED: Upgrading Snow Totals for SNE

UPDATED 9AM INFORMATION: Waking up this morning, I went to the NAM and GFS and both of them are looking more juicy for our area tonight. Also, snow advisories have been posted for southern and northern Worcester County and to the west and north. Southern Vermont is under a Heavy Snow Warning for accumulations of 5-10" above 1000'. The new NAM is quite bullish, painting much of SNE, mainly MA, in the .5" to .8" range. Taken verbatim, 5-8" is on the way for everyone, but since its almost April, it won't work out like that. Still, my new map is un upgrade for most areas. Have your camera ready for tomorrow morning. Everything is going to be caked with a few inches of snow and it will look amazing.

If anymore advisories or warnings get posted, I will update then, if not, this is my final call, barring some crazy turnaround with the computer models 18 hours out.

Friday, March 23rd Information Below....

Are you kidding me? A mini snowstorm is on the way and coming to our area tomorrow night. After seeing the past two days near 60 degrees, we will be cooling down bigtime tomorrow with highs in the 40's. A storm will ripple along the stalled front that goes along our area tonight and brings in cold air from the NE with a high pressure system filtering the cold air into our area to support the snow.

Timing: Snow arrives tomorrow night between 7PM to 10PM from west to east. It may start as a rain/snow mix in extreme southern New England and the Cape, but it will quickly transition to an all snow event for even these areas. Snow becomes moderate to perhaps heavy by midnight with snowfall rates approaching a 1/2" to 1" per hour. Visibilities may come under a quarter of a mile with the quarter sized flakes falling with temperatures around 32 at the surface, but just above us, temperatures in the clouds will be some 20 to 30 degrees colder.

Snow comes to an end early Sunday morning from NW to SE between 5AM and 9AM.

ACCUMULATIONS: Look to be light to moderate. Light snow accumulations will be for all of SNE with a general 1-4" snowfall, mainly 1-2", but a few "lucky" spots may see 3-4". The area in the brightest pink will see the moderate snow accumulations with snowfall accumulating between 3-5" widespread and a few high elevations in the Berkshires and southern Vermont, may see up to 6" of gloppy snowfall. This is where the plows may have to come out as they may get a couple inches of snow to accumulate on the streets, while areas that see under 4" will likely just need sand trucks to clear the roads because pavement temperatures are very warm now due to the warm March sun angle and the past few days being so warm.

Thats all for this mini surprise snow event. It will all be a distant memory by Monday when highs are back in the 50's and then 60's later. I want to WARN you that we may not be done with winter weather after next week's warmup. I am afraid to say that this may be another "tease" of spring as all signs are now indicating that the AO and NAO are going to absolutely tank by next weekend, which basically means we will be going into a DEEP FREEZE for early April standards. This means that highs will likely be in the upper 30's in the hills to mid 40's on the coast and if any storm comes around, it will be able to tap into the extreme cold just a few hundred feet in the air to deliver some late season snow. This is something we have been watching for a while and it could be coming to fruition to screw up our spring plans.

Thats spring in New England...what else is new?

Extended Forecast

All the snow in my backyard is gone. Highs today got to around 60 and yesterday was the same thing with unlimited sunshine. What a beautiful spring day. A front is pushing through our area today and tomorrow will be much cooler with highs in the mid to upper 40's with NE-E winds. The water temperature is 37 degrees right now. It will be a cool raw day and then snow moves in tomorrow night for all of SNE and CNE. A general 1-4" is expected, but we warm up early next week for Tuesday as highs will be pushing 70.

Monday Night Snow Then Spring Arrives for Good?

I told you that winter would have a few more tricks up its sleeve. Temperatures are struggling to get out of the upper 20's today and highs will probably only make it to 32. More cold is in store for the next few days.

More snow is likely tomorrow night with a dusting to one inch likely.

That clears out and then we warm up to end off the week.

More Snow?

Is more snow on the way for early this week? Maybe. After picking up tons of snow and ice yesterday, this is probably the last thing you want to hear. Many areas picked up between 8-14" from Boston north and west, with 4-8" south of the city and 2-4" on the Cape. Worcester was the big winner raking in over a foot and a half, 18"!

There is a chance of a little light rain/snow Monday night that may accumulate up to one inch, but that would be about it. Later in the week, it will warm up and all this snow will be a distant memory. By late week, temperatures will be back in the 60's. We are almost there.

Spring starts Tuesday.

An Old Fashioned Winter Storm

A potent winter storm is coming to wreck your end of the week fun. Waking up tomorrow, you will notice 1-2" of new snow in SNE as the rain showers of tonight transition to snow overnight. Then the main storm comes in as all snow for SNE. Even the Cape will start with a brief period of heavy snow that will quickly accumulate up to two inches that will be washed away by 3-5" of rain overnight Friday into Saturday.

The Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for all of SNE, except the Cape, for 6"+ of snow. I am sticking with the totals I have here on this map.

The snow will change to sleet and then to rain from SE to NW. The rain/snow line may make it up to Manchester tomorrow night an eastern SNE, could see 2-3" of pure rain after seeing the snowfall totals above. That said, we are also under a Flood Watch for poor drainage and urban street flooding Friday night.

This is going to be a messy storm. Best bet is to go skiing up north as many areas up there will be dealing with 12-24"+ of snow out of this one. The problem is that you might get snowed in up there. This will be a wet pasty snow that sticks to everything and causes many power outages, especially in areas that receive more than six inches of snow.

Stay tuned for the latest.

Part One Accumulations: Snowfall Accumulations by 9AM Friday

These snowfall accumulations are for snowfall on the ground by 9AM Friday morning. It is not taking into account the snow that will fall seperately with the Nor'easter that rides up the coast and arrives by mid afternoon on Friday. That snow looks like it will be amazingly close between an all snow event and a heavy snow to rain/mix event in SNE.

There is so much to talk about, so I will just go through a timeline...

Tomorrow Morning: Very mild...around 50...rain showers widespread.

Tomorrow 4PM: Rain continues...becoming heavier...temps falling rapidly

Tomorrow 11PM: Temps continue to fall. Rain is quickly changing to all snow in CNE and approaching southern VT and NH.

Fri 4AM: Rain has changed to ALL SNOW from Plymouth, MA northward.

Fri 9AM: Snow tapering leaving the amounts posted...a lull in the action develops for a few hours before ROUND 2 that will deliver more heavy snow.

Enjoy.

Winter Storm Watch has been Issued for Much of SNE at 4PM Today

As the headline says, a WINTER STORM WATCH has been posted for much of SNE this afternoon, except far southern New England and the Cape/Islands. The WSW is in effect for 6"+ of snow for the entire watch area, which includes the cities of Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Fitchburgh, Plymouth, Boston, Lawrence, Nashua, Manchester, and Springfield.

Tomorrow will be a rainy day with the snow threat later tomorrow night and especially during the morning drive on Friday. There is still lots to iron out with this storm so I won't give any specifics today...go outside and enjoy the weather. Thats where I am heading. Its 72 degrees out there right now.

Storm details tomorrow night.

Shorts Tomorrow, Shovels By St. Patty's Day?

Tomorrow is going to be an amazingly warm day in SNE. Highs away from the coast and away from the South Coast, Cape and Islands will be pushing the mid 70's tomorrow afternoon with a gusty SW wind. With the right amount of sun, areas just west of the shore, by about 5-7 miles will see highs well into the 70's. If you live on either of the Capes and South Coast, you will not see highs in the 70's. Highs for you will be in the 50's due to the water temperatures in the middle to upper 30's at the current time. Boston and the eastern facing coasts will likely get to the mid 60's by the noon to one o'clock hour, but may see a flip to a sea breeze later in the afternoon if the winds slacken just a bit. Temperatures would fall back into the mid 50's. Either way, it is going to be a fantastic day for outdoor activities and the first practices outdoors for the first time this spring season.

Rain, thunderstorms, and wind will be moving in tomorrow night with locally heavy rainfall possible. Highs Thursday will still be quite mild with highs balmy in the 60's with humid conditions. Rain will generally taper during the day as a front goes through the area Thursday night that will usher in a much colder Friday with scattered showers and drizzle throughout the area, making for a very raw New England spring day. It will continue to get progressively colder Friday night as a storm is developing off the Mid Atlantic coast and the next question is how close will the storm make it to the SNE coast? I think it will get up here with rain and snow, but what will the temperature be at the ground level when it is precipitating. That will be a big question and why I am not totally buying into this storm as a major winter storm threat for SNE at this time. However, it bears watching and areas in Central and Northern New England will likely see a moderate to heavy snow out of this after tomorrow night's flooding rains. Spring skiing will continue due to this storm.

Stay tuned to this storm threat, but promise me you all do one thing. Get outside tomorrow, go for a run, play catch, play a little one on one, or just sit outside and soak in the warm sun because it is going to be a top 10 day of the year. Enjoy.