Weather

FIRST ALERT: Brutally Cold Saturday, Snowstorm Looms Monday

Some areas could see up to a foot of snow

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A north wind has ushered in bitter cold. Lows are well below zero in northern New England and around zero in southern New England.  

The wind chills are brutal, in the -15 to -35 degree range for the “feels like” as you head out on Saturday morning. Frost bite could set in in 30 minutes or less, so it’s another day to make sure you don’t have exposed skin outside.  

Afternoon highs will be 0 to 10 degrees, and still with a wind chill below zero. The gusty wind sticks around in the mountains and there may be ski lift delays.

Sunday, we have a break from the intense weather with 20s and sunshine plus less wind.

Sunday night into Monday our next storm heads in. This one is likely to track along or just inside the coastline of the east, the center of the low pressure system heads into western New England. This storm will be messy, with temperatures in the 40s southeast and rain. Colder temperatures and snow will be likely for northern and western New England.  

Today on the SnowCap, meteorologist Pamela Gardner previews the messy storm coming soon and why she says it is sou’easter.

Several inches of snow will fall to around one foot in northwestern New England, and some upslope snow may enhance our totals in the mountains too. The snow is all day long Monday, which is a popular ski weekend since it’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.  

Stay tuned, as the track may wobble slightly and then we could increase our totals for Boston a bit. It is looking more likely that the highest threats for Boston will be gusty winds and rain, not a lot of snow.  

Wind speeds increase as the storm moves through Monday, with southeast gusts around 40 to 60-plus mph then southwest gusts in southern New England. Northern New England will see more northeast to northwest winds. At the coast, the waves will be churning around high tide (noon and midnight Monday).

Southern and eastern facing beaches have a chance for minor to moderate coastal flooding, with up to a 3 foot surge around the noon high tide Monday. The thing is that our tides are running astronomically lower (about 9.5 feet for Boston on Monday afternoon). But with wave heights offshore of 15 to 25 feet we will see some impacts there.

Our weather pattern quiets down after Monday, with temperatures in the 30s to 20s and a small system bringing in snow showers sometime midweek.

Temperatures will drop before we see some snow hit the region overnight into Monday.
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