You’re waking up to snow this morning, but that might not be the only snow for the week, at least for most of us. It is still February, so this should be expected.
The week is starting off with some snow, but since we discussed that in detail yesterday, and the bulk of the snow will be over by the time most of you read this, we won’t dwell on it much longer. Snow showers will continue into the afternoon, but little additional accumulation is expected. High pressure then builds in for tonight, Tuesday and part of Wednesday. This will give us drier but colder conditions. Again, it is February, this should be expected.
It’s still winter, so it shouldn’t be that warm. Average high temperatures for mid-February are in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
By late Wednesday, another low pressure system will head towards the Great Lakes, just like a lot of them have already done so far this winter. As a result, we’ll see the same thing we have already seen plenty of times. Snow will develop Wednesday night, then warmer air will move in aloft, with a change to sleet and/or freezing rain early Thursday, and an eventual change to all rain as warmer air finally moves in at the surface. This doesn’t look like a big deal, with an inch or two of accumulation possible Wednesday night from the Merrimack Valley into southern New Hampshire.
A little bit of snow is expected early Thursday morning, mainly north of Boston. Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
The rain ends Thursday morning, then high pressure returns for later Thursday into Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday, we do it all over again. Low pressure heads towards the Great Lakes again, and we get some snow, changing to sleet and/or freezing rain, then plain rain. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Monday: Cloudy with occasional snow showers tapering off and ending. High 27-34.
Monday night: Clearing. Low 9-16.
Tuesday: Partly to mostly sunny. High 24-31.
Tuesday night: Becoming partly to mostly cloudy. Low 9-16.
Wednesday: Cloudy with snow developing in the evening, changing to sleet, freezing rain, and rain from south to north overnight. High 25-32.
Thursday: Rain ending in the morning, then becoming partly sunny and breezy in the afternoon. High 42-49.
Friday: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 36-43.
Saturday: Some early sun, then becoming mostly cloudy. High 37-44.
Sunday: Cloudy, snow developing, quickly changing to sleet or freezing rain, then plain rain in the afternoon. High 40-47.
Remember a few years ago when every single storm turned into a major snowstorm around here? In many ways, that was preferable to the winter we’ve had this year. Forecasting was a lot easier. Just forecast snow, and lots of it. Chances are, that’s what ended up happening. Not this year. This year, we get rain/snow lines, sleet, freezing rain, and a general mess with just about every storm. Well, there’s another one on the way.
The week actually starts out on a quiet note with high pressure to the north and a weak low pressure area passing well to the south. This will provided us with dry and seasonably cold conditions today. This is the proverbial “calm before the storm.” On Tuesday, low pressure will start to head towards the Great Lakes, sending clouds and precipitation into New England. It should be cold enough for it to start as snow across the region Tuesday afternoon. In fact, the snow may be quite heavy for a while Tuesday afternoon, which may result in the afternoon rush hour becoming utter chaos (not that it isn’t already). Eventually, warmer air will start to move in aloft, and then at the surface, which will result in a change to sleet and then freezing rain or rain from south to north during the evening hours. The questions are: 1. When does the change to sleet occur? 2. How long does it stay as sleet before changing to freezing rain? 3. When do temperatures get above freezing to end the icing threat? The answers to these questions will play an important role in how much of a mess things become.
The NAM may be a little quick to bring in the sleet, and it has a lot of sleet, but it’s done fairly well this winter, so far. We’ll see how it does with this storm. Loop provided by Tropical Tidbits.
Eventually, a secondary area of low pressure will develop, and move across southeastern New England early Wednesday. This should allow most of the region to get above freezing and change to plain rain before everything winds down around daybreak Wednesday. So, how much snow are we expecting before the changeover?
The FV3 model is probably closest to our thinking for snowfall amounts. Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
High pressure builds in behind the storm for late Wednesday and Thursday with dry and cooler conditions. However, another storm follows for Friday. This one looks to be milder, with mainly rain. However, it’s still 5 days away, and the models have been, well, not good, beyond about 3 days this winter, so we’ll obviously have to keep an eye on that one too. But for now at least, it looks like rain. High pressure builds in behind that storm next weekend with dry and colder weather.
Tuesday might suck weather-wise, but cheer up – pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers for Spring Training on Wednesday! There will be actual games a week from Friday! Oh, and in case you forgot, the Patriots won the Super Bowl last week! Image provided by NESN.
Monday: Morning clouds, then becoming partly sunny. High 31-38.
Monday night: Clouds return. Low 13-20.
Tuesday: Cloudy with snow developing in the afternoon, possibly heavy at times. Snow will change to sleet along the South Coast towards evening. High 25-32.
Tuesday night: Snow changing to sleet, freezing rain, and eventually plain rain from south to north before ending by daybreak. Breezy. Temperatures slowly rise at night.
Wednesday: A lingering snow or rain shower is possible, otherwise skies will become partly sunny, breezy. High 39-46, possibly warmer across parts of southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod in the morning.
Thursday: Sunshine and a few clouds, still breezy. High 34-41.
Friday: Becoming partly to mostly cloudy with a few rain showers possible. High 43-50.
Saturday: Cloudy and breezy with a chance of rain. High 43-50.
Sunday: Partly to mostly sunny, breezy, and colder. High 29-36.
We’ve certainly got an interesting week coming up, and we’re not just talking about the weather. Boston sports fans have two annual occurrences to look forward to this week – today is Truck Day, and tomorrow is Parade Day.
Yeah, we’re more than a little spoiled here in Boston. Image provided by WEEI.
Today is Truck Day – one of the first signs of Spring in New England. A truck filled with baseball equipment will leave Fenway Park today, bound for Fort Myers, Florida, where the Red Sox will begin spring training in about a week. Today will feel like Spring already, with a warm front to the north, resulting in temperatures getting into the 50s with some sunshine.
Tuesday is a more important day, as there will be another Championship Parade in the City of Boston – the 12th in 18 years. As a Boston sports fan, this does not get old, and we don’t care if the rest of the nation hate us. Tuesday will start off with some clouds, and possibly a few showers, as a weak system passes to the north, but it will be another warm day, with some places possibly reaching 60 degrees. The warmth will be short-lived, as a cold front moves through late in the day, snapping us back to reality Tuesday night and Wednesday as high pressure builds in with much cooler weather.
High temperatures near or above 60 on Tuesday? It’s a possibility. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
This brings us to the latter half of the week, where things get complicated. A system will move towards the region Wednesday night into early Thursday. This system will be fairly weak, but temperatures will be near or just below freezing when the precipitation moves in, especially north and west of Boston. So, we could be looking at some freezing rain, especially in southern New Hampshire and the Merrimack Valley. Temperatures will gradually warm above freezing everywhere as a second storm approaches for Thursday night into Friday. This will bring more rain into the area. Friday could also be a very mild day as this second system may pass well to our north and west, bringing a warm front through. Once it moves by, it drags a cold front across the region, then high pressure builds back in for next weekend with dry and colder conditions once again.
Freezing rain could cause some issues Wednesday night into Thursday morning across southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
Monday: Sunshine and a few clouds, milder. High 48-55, cooler across Cape Cod.
Monday night: Becoming partly to mostly cloudy, with a few showers possible, mainly north of Route 2. Low 32-39.
Tuesday: Early clouds, then becoming partly to mostly sunny and mild. High 52-59, cooler across Cape Cod.
Tuesday night: Partly cloudy. Low 21-28.
Wednesday: More clouds than sunshine. Rain developing at night, possibly starting as some freezing rain from the Merrimack Valley northward. High 35-42.
Thursday: Cloudy with freezing rain changing to rain before ending in the morning, then redeveloping in the evening. High 36-43.
Friday: Cloudy, breezy, and mild with rain ending during the afternoon. High 48-55.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, breezy, and much cooler. High 24-31.
Sunday: Early sunshine fades behind increasing afternoon clouds. High 27-34.
The winter of little snow rolls on this week, with just a little bit of snow and more cold weather. Don’t worry, it won’t last too long, and it could be a LOT worse.
The week starts off with high pressure building in, giving us sunshine and seasonably cold conditions. Clouds will start to move in during the evening as low pressure heads towards the Midwest. As this system moves across the Great Lakes on Tuesday, snow will develop across the region Tuesday afternoon. A secondary area of low pressure will develop across the Mid-Atlantic states during the afternoon. This will help bring milder air into the region, changing to snow to rain during the afternoon and evening hours. Whether or not this changeover makes it into southern and central NH is still a question mark. Either way, this doesn’t look like a big snow producer, with a few inches across central and southern NH, and an inch or less elsewhere.
This storm is not expected to be a big snow-producer across the area. Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
Once that secondary low pressure area moves past the area, colder air will quickly move back in, changing any rain back to snow before it ends towards daybreak. That’s not the end of the story though. We could see some sunshine develop in the afternoon, but an arctic front will move through late in the day. This front may produce some snow showers or squalls, which could impact the Wednesday evening commute, but they may hold off until a little later. These squalls may briefly lower visibility, and could drop a quick half inch or so, but the bigger story is what comes in behind the front.
Wind chills will be well below zero when most of you are heading out to work or school Thursday morning. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
Skies clear out Wednesday night as high pressure builds in, ushering in much colder air. While it won’t be quite as cold as last Monday when most of the area had high temperatures around 5 degrees, we’ll have more wind this time, so wind chills will be well below zero on Thursday. So, how could it be worse? When this airmass moves into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest later Tuesday into Wednesday, temperatures will be a LOT colder. Across parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, low temperatures will drop near or below -40 Thursday morning, with afternoon highs not reaching -30 in some areas. This is actual air temperature, not wind chill. So what will the wind chills be? How does -60 to -65 sound? We’re not quite sure why people voluntarily live in this area, but they do.
Yes, wind chills could be lower than -60 in parts of the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains Wednesday morning. That is beyond ridiculously cold to us. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
Getting back to our weather, Thursday night will be chilly, but we’ll start to moderate on Friday as high pressure shifts to the east. Oh, it’ll still be cold, just not as cold as Thursday. The gradual warmup will continue on Saturday as high pressure moves offshore and then a warm front moves through on Sunday with milder weather moving in.
Monday: Mostly sunny and chilly. High 24-31.
Monday night: Increasing clouds. Low 15-22.
Tuesday: Cloudy with light snow developing in the afternoon, quickly changing to rain south of Boston. High 30-37.
Tuesday night: Light snow likely across central and southern NH, changing to rain from the MA/NH border southward during the evening. Rain changes back to snow everywhere after midnight, ending towards daybreak. Temperatures may rise a bit through midnight, then drop back to 22-29 by daybreak.
Wednesday: Breezy with any snow showers ending early, then skies become partly to mostly sunny. Snow showers or squalls are possible in the evening. High 26-33, but temperatures will quickly plunge at night.
Thursday: Partly to mostly sunny, breezy, and much colder. High 7-14.
Friday: Sunshine and afternoon clouds, still cold. High 17-24.
Saturday: A mix of sun and clouds, still chilly. High 22-29.
We’ll be riding a rollercoaster for temperatures again this week, but today will leave no doubt that winter has finally arrived.
Some of the coldest air of the season will settle into the region today on gusty north to northwest winds in the wake of the storm system that brought us a mess over the weekend. We’ll have partly sunny skies on average, with some snow showers possible over the Outer Cape. High pressure builds in tonight with light winds, resulting in a bitterly cold night. As the high moves offshore, we’ll start to moderate on Tuesday, but it will remain quite chilly.
Wind chills will be 10 to 20 below zero this afternoon and that’s the warmest that they’ll be. Yeah, it’s gonna be cold out. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
The moderating trend will continue on Wednesday as a storm system approaches the region. While we may see a little snow or a wintry mix in the afternoon, this system will mainly produce some rain showers. The system will drag a cold front through, but the cold air will lag a bit. As the front stalls out offshore, a wave of low pressure will ride up the front, bringing in more rain on Thursday. Some of this rain could be heavy, especially south of Boston. The rain may mix with some wet snow before ending Thursday evening.
The models are showing the potential for heavy rain on Thursday, especially south of Boston. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
Another weak system will quickly follow for late Friday into early Saturday. This one will likely produce some light snow or snow showers, but it does not look like a big deal at this time. Another shot of arctic air moves in for Saturday night. Next Sunday is a bit of a question mark once again. As we’ve mentioned a few times, the models have not been that good beyond a few days. There are some indications that another storm could impact us at some point in the Sunday/Monday time frame next week. Frankly, we’re not sure what to expect at this point, so we’re not going to go into too much detail. Could be snow. Could be rain. Could be more sleet and ice. Could be all of the above. Could be a complete miss. Right now, it’s impossible to pin down. Just keep in mind, that it *could* be another stormy Sunday.
The 51 members of the ECMWF Ensemble show the potential for low pressure next Sunday night to be anywhere from well south of us, to right off the coast, to well east of us, with a few member showing it inland west of us. In other words, it could be anywhere. Image provided by WeatherBell.
Monday: Partly sunny and breezy, chance for some snow showers across parts of Cape Cod. High 4-11 above.
Monday night: Clear and quite cold. Low 2 below to 5 above.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, though some clouds will start to move in during the afternoon. High 20-27.
Tuesday night: Becoming mostly cloudy. Low 11-18.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy and breezy with showers likely, possibly starting as a little snow or a wintry mix. High 38-45.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy and windy with rain likely, possibly heavy at times. High 43-50, possibly warmer across Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts.
Friday: Becoming partly to mostly sunny and breezy. Clouds return at night. High 30-37.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, chance for a few snow showers early. High 18-25.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of……something. High 30-37.
The hype train is already leaving the station – that’s right, there’s a “chance” for some snow next weekend. Since we haven’t had much snow yet this winter (haven’t heard many complaints about that), much of the media is going nuts, salivating at the prospect of a week of trying to outdo each other in the stupidity department. You’ll find none of that here, so let’s just get to the forecast.
We really haven’t that much snowfall so far this winter. Will that change? We’ll see. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
We will start the week off with a little bit of snow for some of you, mainly along the coast and south of Boston. Northeast winds blowing over the still relatively mild Atlantic will produce a little ocean-effect snow across Cape Cod and parts of Plymouth County. We’re not talking about much more than a dusting, though a few localized spots could see an inch or even two. Otherwise, high pressure keeps us dry and seasonably cold right through Thursday.
On Friday, low pressure will approach from the west. We’ll see some light snow or rain with this system, with the best chance for any snow mainly north of the Mass Pike. Obviously, this will depend on exact track of the system, but temperatures won’t be that cold, the system won’t be that strong, and it’ll be moving along fairly quickly. So, not that big of a deal. High pressure builds in late Friday into Saturday while another storm system moves into the Southeast. This brings us to Sunday.
A little bit of snow is expected on Friday, mainly north and west of Boston. Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
Many of the forecast models are showing the potential for this system to head up the East Coast Saturday night into Sunday while high pressure moves into Quebec. This is the setup for a classic Nor’easter, and most of the models are showing this. They mainly show that Sunday will feature heavy snow, strong winds, and likely some coastal flooding due to the astronomical high tides. Some of the models are showing snowfall amounts in feet, not inches. Of course, many in the media have seen this, and are gleefully hyping it up already, while throwing in words like “possible” as an afterthought, after showing maps with model snowfall amounts, meaning that nobody hears the word “possible”. Here’s the thing, this is still 6-7 days away, and as we’ve mentioned more than a few times, the models have been absolutely horrible beyond about 2-3 days. So, why would we suddenly take a 7-day forecast and believe it now? Remember, the storm that hit Washington, DC yesterday was forecast by the models a week ago to bury New England instead. In short, yes, there is a “chance” for a storm next weekend, but we’re not buying what the models are selling just yet. If they are still forecasting this as we get towards Thursday or Friday, then maybe we’ll jump on board and have a blog post about it. Until then? Nope, not gonna do it.
One thing we are certain about for next Sunday is that the Patriots season will continue, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line against the Kansas City Chiefs. Right now, it looks like we’ll have clear skies for the game which kicks off at 6:40pm EST on Sunday, with a game-time temperature around 10 degrees. Obviously, this is subject to change for the reasons we outlined above in reference to the models. As for the game itself, the Patriots will make a 3rd straight trip to the Super Bowl after they knock off the Chefs Chiefs by a score of 34-31.
Monday: Morning flurries along the coast south of Boston, otherwise becoming partly to mostly sunny. High 27-34.
Monday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 15-22.
Tuesday: Sunshine and a few clouds. High 30-37.
Tuesday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 18-25.
Wednesday: Partly sunny. High 34-41.
Thursday: Sunshine gives way to increasing clouds. High 23-30.
Friday: Cloudy with a chance for snow north of the Mass Pike, rain or snow south of the Pike. High 33-40.
Saturday: Some early sun, otherwise partly to mostly cloudy. High 24-31.
Sunday: Cloudy and windy with a chance of snow. Highs ranging from the teens north and west of Boston, to the lower 30s across southeastern Massachusetts.
Since we’re into January, how about we change things up and get some snow in here? Whaddyathink? Good idea? Bad idea? Don’t worry, we’re not looking at much, well at least not in in the next few days.
The week starts off on a sunny, but chilly note with high pressure in control. Both the sunshine and cold temperatures won’t last long though as low pressure starts to approach the region. Clouds move in late in the day with some light snow developing at night. However, milder air will move in, so we’ll see a fairly quick change to rain south of the Mass Pike, with the change taking place farther north during the morning. Everything winds down by early afternoon, with accumulations of an inch or two possible, mainly in southern New Hampshire.
The Bears got a double-doink on Sunday, we get a double-whammy Tuesday into Wednesday, but ours won’t be that tough to take. Loop provided by Tropical Tidbits.
The story doesn’t end there, as another system will quickly follow for Tuesday night and Wednesday. This one will start off as rain everywhere Tuesday night, but as the system moves into the Gulf of Maine, it will bring some cold air in, possibly changing the rain back to snow before ending Wednesday afternoon or evening. Again, we’re not looking at much accumulation, so this is not a big deal. High pressure builds in with much colder weather behind that system for Thursday through Saturday. When we say cold, we mean COLD. As in, the type of weather we haven’t had since Thanksgiving. This brings us to next Sunday.
Highs in the upper teens to middle 20s on Friday? You’d think it was January or something. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
Before we get to our thoughts on Sunday, let us say that most of the forecast models have been utter crap (note: technical term) this winter beyond about 2-3 days. This seems to happen every winter, but it doesn’t stop some of the morons that don’t know better from posting maps for a “potential” snowstorm that is a week or more away. As you’ve probably figured out by now, one of those “potential” storms is being shown by at least one of the models for the timeframe of next Sunday/Monday. In fact, over the past 2-3 days, nearly all of the models have shown this storm in one form or another, but never all at the same time. Some of them show the storm staying well south of us, with nothing happening. Some show it cutting right across New England, with rain to the south and snow to the north. Some show it clipping us with snow along the coast and nothing inland. Some show it not developing at all. And finally, some show a crippling blizzard. Of course, it’s the last one that gets the attention of the amateurs, because that’s the best way to generate clicks on their websites. It’s also the least likely scenario.
Of course, Sunday is also an important day because the Patriots host the Chargers at Gillette Stadium that afternoon. The Patriots excel in cold weather and snow, so this wouldn’t be a bad thing, unless you have tickets. The Patriots are 45-10 when the game-time temperature is 34 or colder, 13-2 in the postseason. They are 11-0 in Foxboro, when it snows.
There have been some memorable games played in the snow at Gillette Stadium. Is another one on the way? Image provided by ESPN
As for the forecast for Sunday? We wouldn’t be surprised if there was some snow, but probably not during the game. Obviously we’ll keep an eye on things, and if it does look like a storm is headed our way, we’ll have a special blog post once things become clearer. As for the game itself – Patriots 27 Chargers 23, and a trip to the AFC Championship game for the 8th year in a row.
Monday: Plenty of sunshine, though clouds will start to move in late in the day. High 25-32.
Monday night: Cloudy with snow developing after midnight. Low 20-27 in the evening, then temperatures rise after midnight.
Tuesday: Cloudy with snow changing to rain from south to north, ending by early afternoon. Snow accumulation an inch or so from the Merrimack Valley into southern NH, less than an inch elsewhere. High 38-45.
Tuesday night: Cloudy and breezy with rain likely, possibly a little freezing rain or snow across central NH. Low 32-39.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy and breezy with showers gradually changing to snow showers before ending in the evening. Little snow accumulation expected. High 37-44.
Thursday: A mix of sun and clouds, breezy, and colder. High 30-37.
Friday: Mostly sunny and cold. High 18-25.
Saturday: A sunny start, clouds move in during the afternoon. High 21-28.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance for snow. High 23-30.
Remember last week when we hinted that First Night could be really cold? Well, it seems as though we were wr….wro….wro….we were a little off.
It is NOT going to be a fun First Night in the Dakotas. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
First Night is actually going to be bitterly cold, if you’re planning on spending it in Fargo, where wind chills will be 25 to 35 degrees below zero when the clock strikes midnight. Around here? It’ll be a tad milder. Low pressure will move from the Great Lakes into northern New England later today and tonight. Precipitation will move in this evening, and it will likely still be cold enough for some snow, sleet, or freezing rain from the Merrimack Valley northward, at least at the start. Elsewhere, just some rain is expected. Milder air will move in aloft, and eventually at the surface too, changing the precipitation to rain everywhere overnight. That warm air may take its time moving in, especially from the Merrimack Valley into southern New Hampshire, but New Years Morning will likely be quite mild across much of the area. Don’t get used to it, as a cold front moves through during the morning, with windy and colder conditions likely for the afternoon.
The NAM model shows cold air stubbornly hanging around in southern NH and the Merrimack Valley Tuesday morning, while everywhere else turns milder. Image provided by WeatherBell.
Tuesday afternoon is also when the Winter Classic takes places, featuring two of the absolute best sweaters in the NHL (and two of our favorite teams here at StormHQ) – the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks. We’ll refrain from comment about the fact that it’s taking place at the home of the Angry Leprechauns – Notre Lame, er, Dame, or that outdoor hockey games are much better on TV than in person (trust us, we’ve experienced it), but for the game itself, it should be cloudy with temperatures in the middle 30s, which is pretty much perfect for outdoor hockey.
We’re not fans of outdoor hockey games, but we are fans of the Bruins and the Blackhawks. The weather will cooperate, so let’s hope for a great game (and a Bruins victory). Image provided by the National Hockey League.
As we head deeper into 2019, things get quieter (and colder) around here for a few days. High pressure builds in, and we’ll have generally dry and cool conditions for much of the remainder of the week, as we remain in a split jet-stream pattern. Basically, we’ve got a northern stream keeping some storms across southern Canada and to our north, and a southern stream keeping the warmer, juicier storms to our south. This will be the case on Friday when it looks like a southern stream storm will come along and give us some rain, while the northern stream remains locked up in Canada. If you don’t like snowstorms, then you want this pattern to continue. Why? Because if the streams cross, to quote Dr. Egon Spengler, “It would be bad.” That’s usually how we end up with some of our bigger snowstorms in the winter. As the storm moves by, colder air will work in behind it, with the rain possibly changing over to snow before ending on Saturday. High pressure then returns for next Sunday.
New Years Eve: Becoming mostly cloudy. High 37-44.
Monday Night: Cloudy and becoming breezy with rain developing, starting as some snow or a wintry mix from the Merrimack Valley into southern New Hampshire. Rain ends towards daybreak. Low 32-39 during the evening, then temperatures will hold steady or slowly rise overnight.
New Years Day: A lingering shower early, then becoming partly to mostly sunny, windy, and colder. High 49-56 in the morning then temperatures quickly drop through the 40s during the afternoon.
Tuesday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 18-25.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 27-34.
Thursday: Partly sunny, slight chance for a snow or rain shower. High 35-42.
Friday: Cloudy with rain developing in the afternoon, continuing at night. High 38-45.
Saturday: Cloudy and breezy with rain, possibly mixing with or changing to snow before ending late in the day. High 34-41.
Sunday: A mix of sun and clouds, breezy. High 36-43.
To qualify as a White Christmas meteorologically, we need to have 1″ or more of snow on the ground at 7am Christmas morning. We’re likely not going to have that this year, but that doesn’t mean the ground will be bare in some areas.
The week starts off with a weak system passing south of the region this morning and an upper-level disturbance crossing the region later today and tonight. Between these two, we’ll have some light snow and snow showers across the area today and tonight. Most of us will just see a dusting of snow, but it wouldn;t be a surprise if a few places picked up 1/2″ to 1″. Nothing major, but just enough to make the ground white in time for Christmas. As for Christmas itself, high pressure will build back in with sunshine and cooler conditions. The high will remain in place through Thursday with the dry and seasonably cool conditions expected.
We’re expecting less than 1″ of snow across much of the area today. Image provided by the College of DuPage.
By Friday, another system will be heading towards the Great Lakes. We’ll have milder air out ahead of it, with rain likely. We could see a little freezing rain at the start, especiallyinto central New Hampshire, as the colder air may be a little slow to depart. Friday looks wet and mild at this point. The storm passes to our north Friday night, dragging a cold front through early on Saturday, with drier and cooler weather returning during the day on Saturday after a mild start. Another Alberta Clipper will come through on Sunday with some light snow expected.
If you’re looking ahead to New Year’s Eve – right now it’s looking windy and cold with some snow showers as the Alberta Clipper pulls away from the region. If you’re planning to be outside for First Night activities, the models right now are showing temperatures in the teens with wind chills near or below zero. Obviously, we’ll have a closer look at the forecast in next week’s outlook.
A preliminary look at New Year’s Eve based on the GFS model shows wind chills near or below zero around midnight. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
Monday: Mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers, possibly mixed with some rain across the South Coast and Cape Cod. High 33-40.
Monday night: Any lingering snow showers ending in the evening, then skies clear out overnight. Low 20-27.
Tuesday: Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 31-38.
Tuesday night: Clear skies. Low 18-25.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. High 33-40.
Thursday: Plenty of sunshine, but some clouds will start to move in late in the day. High 31-38.
Friday: Cloudy, breezy, and milder, with rain likely, possibly starting as a little freezing rain across central New Hampshire before daybreak. High 46-53, possibly staying cooler across central and southern New Hampshire.
Saturday: Plenty of sunshine, breezy, and turning cooler again. High 46-53 early, then temperatures drop in the afternoon.
Sunday: Becoming cloudy with some light snow possible late in the day. High 28-35.
We’re getting down to the end of the year already. Christmas is a little more than a week away now, so this might be a good time to start your shopping. The good news is, that the weather should cooperate for most of the week.
Heading outside Tuesday morning? Bundle up! Wind chills will be in the single numbers. Image provided by Weathermodels.com
We are starting the week with low pressure pulling away from the region. We’ve got some lingering snow or rain this morning, but it should end before midday. Skies will start to clear out tonight as high pressure settles into the region behind the storm system. This will bring us a windy and cold day for Tuesday. Winds die down Tuesday night as the high moves across the region, then a moderating trend is expected for Wednesday and Thursday with the high moving offshore.
That brings us to Friday, which is the first day of Astronomical Winter. The Winter Solstice occurs at 5:22pm. If you believe the models though, they are in fairly good agreement that a storm system will bring in some milder air and rain, possibly a lot of it on Friday, which will certainly not feel like winter. However, the models have been utter crap (Note: technical term) beyond 2-3 days lately, so we’re not convinced yet that it will be mild or very wet. We should transition back to a breezy and colder pattern next weekend as Friday’s storm moves into Atlantic Canada.
We could be in for a lot of rain Friday into Saturday, if the GFS model is right. But will it actually be right? Image provided by Pivotal Weather.
Monday: Rain or snow showers ending early, some sunny breaks may develop in the afternoon, breezy. High 37-44.
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