Winter Storm to Dump Up to Two Feet of Snow in Some Areas of New England

New England will see snow to sleet to rain and back to snow over the course of this weekend. Northern New England will see 1-2 feet of snow, while southern New England will see heavy snow, flipping to sleet, with rain far southeast, then back to snow as arctic air makes our temperatures crash.

Saturday night through Sunday afternoon is when the winter weather moves in. Saturday afternoon will be dry and cloudy with temperatures in the 20s. Depending on where you live, you may also see sleet and possibly rain.

Everyone starts with snow from west to east. Snow rates will be 1 inch per hour between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. One to two inches of snow will fall per hour from 3 a.m. until 8 a.m. before a changeover begins.

Sleet starts to mix in with the snow from south to north between 5 a.m. and noon Sunday. That gradual north trend with the snow to sleet changeover will be all morning, and the sleet may reach as far north as southern New Hampshire and perhaps across the Maine coast. Our wind direction changes and we get colder air to flip us back to snow between 4 and 6 p.m. in Boston. Sleet southeast, rain across Cape Cod and the Islands changes to sleet to briefly snow. It will be all snow in Vermont, interior New Hampshire and interior Maine for this storm.

TIMELINE: Hour-by-Hour Look at This Weekend's Big Storm

We will have a sharp cutoff in snow from northwest to southeast due to sleet mixing in. Expect 6-9 inches of snow in Boston, then 1-2 inches of sleet. In southeastern, Massachusetts, there could be 3-6 inches of sleet. Other areas will see various amounts of snow:

• Worcester: 9-12 inches
• Harford: 3-6 inches
• Berkshires: 12-18 inches
• Providence: 3-6 inches
• Southern Vermont, central New Hampshire, interior Maine: 18+ inches

Ice:

Sleet accumulation and possibly some freezing rain will follow our heavy snowfall Sunday morning. Sleet accumulations up to 2 inches could spread into southern New Hampshire, towards most of Worcester County through Boston, Hartford and Providence. Any unfrozen water glazes over everywhere... including Cape Cod and the Islands as we get a flash freeze Sunday evening.

Wind:

Sunday morning wind will gust between 20-40 mph onshore (some 50 mph gusts). Our wind direction flips by Sunday afternoon and evening, coming from the north, northwest 20-40 mph. With the amount of snow and ice potential, we do expect power outages and tree damage.

Coastal Flooding:

Flood advisories and warnings are up along the coast for Sunday morning’s high tide. South coasts will get about a 1-foot surge with minor flooding. North Shore, Cape Ann, Boston, south shore will get 1-3 foot of surge, minor to moderate flooding. Offshore waves by Sunday afternoon will peak at 10-20 feet.

10-Day Outlook:

It will be sharply colder on Monday with wind chills below zero. Highs around 9 with some clearing in the afternoon, but windy. Temperatures modify Tuesday to the 20s then near 40 by mid-week. Another wintry mix moves through mid-week. Temperatures will stay around freezing for highs through next weekend. Watch for more active weather.