Massachusetts

FIRST ALERT: Weekend Nor'easter Could Bring Blizzard Conditions, 2 Feet of Snow to Parts of New England

Get ready for a major nor'easter bringing snow, sleet, rain, wind and coastal flooding depending on location

What to Know

  • Snow for this weekend's nor'easter will start late Saturday evening and will fall heavily overnight.
  • Sleet will move north starting in Conn. and up to the Mass.-NH border. We could see blizzard conditions along eastern New England coast.
  • Snow totals could reach up to 2 feet in northern and central New England, and half a foot to a foot in much of southern New England.

New England is bracing for a major winter storm this weekend – complete with snow, sleet, rain, wind and coastal flooding depending upon location. Our weather team has issued First Alerts for Friday morning and Saturday night into Sunday.

For now, dry air is holding on for sunshine and cold temperatures Thursday, with a busy early morning wind dying quickly so wind chill won’t be a significant factor beyond the already chilly temperatures.

TIMELINE: Incoming Nor'easter Expected to Pack a Punch With Possible Blizzard Conditions, Snow

Clouds will increase Thursday evening and night as moisture riding ahead of an approaching disturbance moves overhead, lowering through the overnight and leading to snow showers predawn Friday morning.

The timing with Friday morning’s commute is the reason for our First Alert – light snow accumulation will only be a dusting to an inch with perhaps slightly more in the hills and mountains, but the timing is during the morning drive on roads that, unless treated, will be cold enough to quickly accumulate that snow and become slick.

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Snow showers will end by early afternoon Friday, mixed with raindrops for some, and some breaks in the clouds are likely Friday late day, allowing for patchy black ice overnight Friday night.

Although Saturday will be dry, clouds will increase ahead of the first major winter storm of the season for many metro areas of southern New England, and snow will begin late Saturday evening, falling heavily Saturday overnight into Sunday as a sleet area migrates north through Connecticut, Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts Sunday morning, perhaps recoiling as far north as the Merrimack Valley by Sunday midday.

Of course, by that point plows will have been out for most of New England, save for far southern communities, and travel will be difficult if not impossible, as blizzard conditions are possible from southeast New Hampshire up the Maine coast Sunday morning and midday as snow totals reach up to two feet in northern and central New England and half a foot to a foot in much of southern New England.

Although the exact end time is still up for grabs, we expect the storm to taper later Sunday, giving way to punishing cold for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with wind chill values near zero at the warmest time of day before we look toward another storm threat for the middle of next week.

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A look at projected snowfall totals for Greater Boston on Sunday.
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A look at the snowfall totals for northern New England.
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