What looked like a complicated forecast earlier this week looks a lot easier now for much of the weekend. Things get a lot more complicated later Monday though.
High pressure will continue to build in tonight and Friday, with generally dry and seasonably cool conditions continuing. A storm system will pass west and then south of the region Friday night and Saturday. The cloud shield from the system will overspread the region late Friday, but most of the snow (or rain) will likely stay to our south and west. Yes, some snow showers may move in Saturday morning (mixed with rain near the South Coast), but accumulations, if any, will be negligible, except toward the Worcester Hills and the hills of northern Rhode Island, but even there, less than an inch is expected. High pressure builds back in for Saturday night and Sunday with chilly conditions once again. Monday is where things get interesting.
Low pressure will start to move up the coast on Monday, spreading more clouds in, but beyond that, there is considerable uncertainty in the track of the storm. Some models keep it mostly south and east of us, some bring it right up over us. No matter what the track, they all forecast the storm to become fairly strong, and hang around, so the effects of the storm will continue into much of Tuesday. So, at a minimum, we’ll have some gusty winds, and possibly a little coastal flooding, though tides will not be at their astronomical high for the month. As for precipitation, well, that depends on the track. The closer the storm gets, the more likely we’ll see some rain, though snow is possible at the start and the end. The farther inland you get, the more likely you’ll see snow, and possibly some heavy snow. Some of the models are forecasting rather significant snow totals well north and west of Boston, but again, this will be highly dependent on the track. We should have a lot more clarity on this when we publish our Weekly Outlook early Monday morning.
Thursday night: Partly cloudy. Low 23-30.
Friday: Sunny in the morning, clouds move back in during the afternoon. High 43-50.
Friday night: Cloudy with a few snow showers, possibly mixed with rain near the South Coast. Low 26-33.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy and breezy with some snow or rain showers early. High 35-42.
Saturday night: Clearing. Low 24-31.
Sunday: Morning sunshine fades behind increasing afternoon clouds. High 39-46.
Sunday night: Mostly cloudy. Low 25-32.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, breezy, snow or rain possible late in the day. High 40-47.
Storm HQ 