Our confidence is increasing for an impactful storm on Friday morning and a bigger storm on Sunday, so we have issued a First Alert for both days.
Milder temperatures are still in the forecast for Wednesday. Highs will be in the low 40s for much of New England thanks to a southwest breeze. A weak cold front sweeps in from Canada Wednesday night, ushering in colder air. Highs fall to the 20s by Thursday. We're watching for some mountain snow with that front on Wednesday and dry south.
TIMELINE: Hour-by-Hour Details on Friday, Sunday Storms
Now to the storms. The first one will arrive on Thursday night into Friday morning. There will be snow northwest with rain along the south coast and a wintry mix across southern Massachusetts in the morning.
The freezing line may linger across or near Boston during the late morning hours. Watch for freezing rain potential as ground temperatures will be cold, with warmer air aloft trying to cut northward. The wintry mix tapers in the afternoon and this system is out by Friday night.
Light accumulations are expected across Boston and parts of southeastern Massachusetts. There will be a couple inches of snow outside Interstate 495 to several inches in the higher elevations.
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A larger storm approaches for the weekend. Colder air returns for Saturday, setting us up for snow once the first round of precipitation moves towards the northeast. Keep in mind the track is uncertain at this time.
If the low goes farther north, that means more rain. Farther south means more snow and snow also across southern New England. Models keep wobbling with the track of the low as of Tuesday afternoon.
There is a chance we warm up a bit on Sunday during the storm and our temps could reach the 40s and 50s! Then temperatures crash Sunday night.
Key impacts will be the snow, ice potential, damaging winds, and coastal flooding (south coast vs. northeast facing beaches) coinciding with high astronomical tides. As the system tracks out of New England we turn sharply colder with arctic air.
Rain will change back to snow as temperatures fall. If they fall fast enough, we could have a flash freeze.
Arctic air flows in for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday into the beginning of next week. Another system with a wintry mix is showing up on our exclusive forecast model Wednesday night, Thursday through Friday morning.
