Breezy, Frigid Countdown to New Year

After a sunny and frigid start to the final day of 2016, clouds have already made their way back into the area and those will stick around through the countdown to the new year.

Heading out to Copley Square for First Night Boston? Make sure to bundle up! Temperatures through the evening and into tonight will range into the mid to upper 20s, but it will feel at least 10 degrees colder with the constant cool breeze. Rain showers likely move in after the ball drops to ring in 2017, but showers will likely be in the vicinity.

These showers are associated with a fast moving clipper system that was over northern Michigan earlier this morning. As the system slides closer into New England, snow showers will move in, remaining scattered for Vermont, New Hampshire, western Massachusetts, and northwest Connecticut.

For tonight, minor snow accumulation is expected for those areas, so please take it slow on the roadways as some could become slick as you make your way home after your New Year’s plans. A few more inches of accumulation are expected for the White Mountains into northern New Hampshire, and pockets of western Maine. Overnight lows only drop into the low to mid 40s south, 20s north.

For New Year’s Day, the system will slide out as early as 6 a.m., as clouds will dissipate in coverage with highs on the mild side into the low to mid 40s south, 30s north under partly to mostly sunny skies. Monday is the next big travel day, which starts out dry with highs in the low 40s, but another system has its sights on New England for Monday night into Tuesday that could draw in some wintry mix, so stay tuned for the very latest forecast updates and changes.

Otherwise, it’s a roller coaster ride of temperatures as highs warm-up into the mid to upper 40s for the first half of the week, before temperatures slide into the 30s and upper 20s by the weekend.