Winter Holds On

Posted by Chris Lambert

March can certainly be a fickle month, and this week is no exception.   We're tracking a storm the will redevelop off the mid-Atlantic and track northeast.  This will be a long duration event for us with rain, heavy wet snow, and high winds.

Wednesday Day: Few rain and snow showers around, maybe a coating to an inch in the Worcester Hills, but not much sticks.  Temps near 40.  Winds increase out of the east-northeast to 20-35mph, strongest coast.  Gusts to 40mph at the coast by evening.

Wednesday Night: Rain and snow increase after midnight, so does the wind.  Gusting to 50mph at the coast by daybreak, especially across SE Mass.  Snow/rain line sets up close to Route 24 and a few miles west of the coast.   Wet snow clings to everything.

Thursday: Rain/Snow line sets up close to I-95.  Heavy wet snow west, cold rain and strong winds east.  Snow really piles up in northern RI and Southern Worcester County and east  to the 95/495 exchange.  Winds crank... gusting to 50mph at the coast, highest across SE Mass.  Minor coastal flooding possible near the 6:45AM high tide.  Likely pockets of moderate to major coastal flooding for the 7:30PM high tide.

Thursday Night:  Bouts of rain and snow continue, strong winds too.  Power outages possible inland with the heavy wet snow, power outages possible at the coast thanks to a persistent strong NE wind.

Friday: Rain and snow finally taper off by midday.  High tide concerns again for coastal flooding and beach erosion during the 7:45AM.

Snow totals: Without question the trickiest part of this storm.  My current thinking is a northeast wind presents mixing issues at times along and near the coast.  2-4" of heavy, wet snow in Boston.  Around 95/128, points west, 4-8" of heavy wet snow.  At least 8" of snow from Worcester to Hopkinton to Franklin with locally 12-14" in the higher terrain of northern RI and Worcester County.   See the "special map" section of the website for more.   If the wind is more north than east... these numbers could adjust east as well.  Still 36-60hours from most of the accumulating snow in a complicated storm.

Unsettling

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Another day where we have cool, ocean air battling warmer land air leading to a clash of air. That means clouds, drizzle, fog, humidity (frizzy hair) for much of the day. It's not a washout though. The highest chance of rain is this morning--until 9:30am and then later this afternoon (after 3pm). In between, you will see a lot of clouds but also some sunshine at times. Even limited sun will be able to shove temps well into the 70s. This warm & humid air is what will lead to another round of showers & t-storms later today. Some of the storms will be intense. Like the past two days the strongest storms will be in western New England. Only isolated showers/ thunderstorms are expected along the coastline later today. Sox game will have the risk of some showers but they should be able to play that game. Welcome back Tito!

Saved by The Sea Breeze

Posted by Pete Bouchard

Although my forecast was busted today, there was one good thing that came out of it.

Stability.

That gray overcast that hung over the eastern half of the Commonwealth provided a stablizing influence to our atmosphere. The cool air blowing in from the ocean kept the temperatures in the upper 50s and low 60s all the way back to Metrowest. While that makes for lousy short-and-t-shirt weather, it is poison to thunderstorms.

Wild & Wacky

Posted by Jeremy Reiner

Wild temperatures yesterday---from the 80s down into the low 60s in just an hour AND some heavy duty thunderstorms. The reason was a cool front that dropped in from Maine. That front is in western New England this morning and it's a chameleon as it will become a warm front and try to warm things back up during the day.

Storms, Heat, Sea Breezes

Posted by Pete Bouchard

What a day! Breakneck temperature swings, thunder, tornadoes in Western Mass....and we're still in late May!