Tuesday’s storm is quick-hitting and not very well organized. Even as of Tuesday morning, the pockets of snow moving toward New England from Pennsylvania were ill-defined as energy aloft attempts to develop snow into dry air.
By late morning onward, our First Alert Team expects incoming warmth and moisture to collide with pre-existing cold and dry air. This will allow for an expansion and intensification of the incoming snow and produce a relatively quick, fluffy accumulation.
As the snow falls on cold roads it will accumulate quickly - even without much moisture actually falling from the sky. Fluffy snow can add up quickly.
The heaviest snow rates, thanks to the fluffy nature of the snow, may reach one inch per hour at times during the afternoon, particularly between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The snow will either stop or let up significantly around 7 p.m. in most communities.
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Temperatures below freezing will mean roads will continue to need treatment into the night and both snow-covered and slick spots will remain. Those who can scrape the driveway down to patches of pavement will get some help from nature on Wednesday as sunshine and temperatures near the melting point will help to expand those patches of pavement over the course of the day.
Our First Alert Team is carefully tracking two storms that pass to our south at the end of the week – one Thursday, another Friday. It appears as though both of those systems will stay far enough south to spare New England from significant impact.
This would mean sun north and some clouds south with a South Coast flurry Thursday, then a chance of some light snow in southern New England Friday, depending on the exact storm track. At this point it appears whatever falls in New England Friday, if anything at all, won’t be too substantial, but we’ll keep you posted.
Saturday should be fair and cool ahead of a more likely, more organized and closer storm Sunday. Even that storm, though, is trending south thus far and may be one we mostly miss. Nonetheless, our antenna will remain up throughout the 10-day forecast with temperatures remaining cold enough for winter storms.
The jet stream winds aloft – the fast river of air that steers storm systems – remain nearby to steer disturbances close, so there will be additional chances for storms close to us, particularly again around the middle of next week.
