Tuesday's Weather Will Be a Mess

As meteorologists, we like to contain a storm in a few sentences - or even catch phrases (like 'Blockbuster Storm'). Makes it simple to understand, and memorable.

This one defies a clean definition...other than messy.

We've wrestled with the rain/snow line, the extent of the icing, the amount of rain and the amount of snow. Let's be clear here. It's not the track of the storm, it's the amount of cold air before and during the storm's passage.

Right now, it seems this is a classic setup where the cold air is shallow and 'clingy'. That tells me we'll see more icing than snow in Southern New England, and things could get slick tomorrow night on the roads (nevermind ice caking on your windshield).

A wedge of cold air is to blame for this setup. It's backed by a high pressure system which conspires to drain cold air from the north throughout our event. Without this feature, we'd easily go to rain. With it, we battle the ice.

The storm moves in around 3-5 pm tomorrow with some snow in spots. The changeover is through the night, with the storm wrapping in the late morning and early afternoon on Wednesday.

Still not looking at any arctic air in play this week. That means we'll average above normal into the weekend, and it may also mean we're looking at another wet storm next week. Could be a biggie, but we're also wary of any cold that could sneak in last minute.

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