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.

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.

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.

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.

Monday: Rain or snow showers ending early, some sunny breaks may develop in the afternoon, breezy. High 37-44.

Monday night: Gradual clearing, breezy. Low 18-25.

Tuesday: Wall-to-wall sunshine, windy, and cold. High 24-31.

Tuesday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 15-22.

Wednesday: A mix of sunshine and clouds. High 33-40.

Thursday: More clouds than sunshine. High 40-47.

Friday: Cloudy and breezy with a chance of rain. High 47-54.

Saturday: Plenty of clouds, breezy, more showers possible, especially early. High 44-51.

Sunday: Sun, sun, and more sun, but a bit breezy again. High 35-42.

How many of you saw the reports of 1-2 feet of snow in North Carolina and Virginia over the weekend and said to yourself “better there than here”? We don’t have anything like that in our near-future, but that doesn’t mean the week will be snow-free.

The week starts off with high pressure building in for today and into Tuesday. That means plenty of sunshine and cool temperatures. We may see some clouds and possibly a flurry across the Outer Cape, but otherwise, dry and cold. Tuesday night into Wednesday could be a little interesting though. Low pressure will pass well offshore, but an upper-level disturbance will be moving through at the same time. With cold air in place and north-to-northeast winds blowing over the relatively mild Atlantic, we could see some ocean-effect snow right along the coast. This is the same mechanism that produces lake-effect snow around the Great Lakes. Most of this snow will be confined to coastal areas, especially coastal Maine to Cape Ann, and eastern Plymouth County over to Cape Cod. We’re not expecting much more than a dusting to an inch for these locations, though a few spots, especially on Cape Cod, could see a couple of inches if one of these bands off the ocean stays in place long enough.

High pressure builds back in on Thursday with another shot of dry and cold air, but it will be short-lived as milder air (and clouds) start to move in on Friday ahead of the next storm system. There’s still a lot of questions with this system, namely where it actually tracks, but it does look to be milder, so we’re probably talking about rain (because we haven’t had enough of that in the last 3 months!) Some models show the potential for heavy rain, others don’t have as much. Some have it getting quite mild on Saturday, while others have it mild, but not that warm. As long as you’re not shoveling it, you probably don’t care that much, right? A second storm likely follows on Sunday, but this one looks like it will remain well to the south, likely too far south to have much, if any, impact on the region, other than to help drag more cold air down from Canada.

Monday: Mostly sunny, except partly sunny across Cape Cod. High 29-36.

Monday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 14-21.

Tuesday: Plenty of sunshine, except for Cape Cod once again. High 30-37.

Tuesday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 19-26.

Wednesday: More clouds than sunshine, breezy, some light snow or flurries possible along the east coast. High 28-35.

Thursday: Partly to mostly sunny. High 30-37.

Friday: Increasing clouds and milder. High 41-48.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy and breezy with periods of rain likely. High 45-52.

Sunday: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 38-45.

We’re into December already, which means that 2018 is nearly over.  Before we officially turn the page, we’ll just let you know that this was one of the wettest Novembers ever across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, and in many locations it was the wettest on record. The same could also be said for meteorological autumn as a whole (defined as the months of September, October, and November.)

December started off on a wet note, which a system producing an inch or so of rain across the area late Saturday night into Sunday, but much of the upcoming week should be dry. Yes, you can put your umbrella and raincoat away for now. In fact, you won’t even need a heavy jacket today, as it will be quite mild (by December standards). We’ll start the morning off with some patchy dense fog, which may have trouble burning off due to the low December sun angle. However, once it does, we’ll get some sunshine, which may help temperatures climb into the 50s in many areas. The warmth will be short-lived however, as a strong cold front will move through late in the day.

High pressure builds in for Tuesday through Thursday with dry and much colder conditions. We’ll have plenty of wind on Tuesday as well, creating rather chilly wind chills. For Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll need to keep an eye on the potential offshore storm system, but right now it looks like it will stay too far offshore to have any impact here. Another cold front moves through late Thursday, bringing us even more cold air for the end of the week and start of the weekend. Parts of the area may struggle to get into the 30s on Saturday.

After that, things get complicated. For Sunday (and/or next Monday), most of the models have been showing the potential for a coastal storm. The problem is, none of these models have been consistent at all. On some runs, the models show the storm staying well to our south. Sometimes, they’ll show no storm at all. Other times, they’ll show a classic Nor’easter with heavy snow inland and rain along the coast. Other times, they show a storm that buries the South Coast, but has virtually no precipitation at all north of Boston. These models never seem to show the same solution from one run to the next, and they don’t seem to agree with one another either. Given that it’s a week away, this isn’t too much of a surprise. So for now, we’ll just keep an eye on it. If the threat does materialize, we’ll have a special blog post later in the week, once we’re a little more certain about what may or may not happen.

Monday: Morning fog, then becoming partly to mostly sunny and breezy.  High 49-56.

Monday night: Clear to partly cloudy. Low 23-30.

Tuesday: Sunshine and a few clouds., breezy, and colder. High 30-37.

Tuesday night: Clear skies. Low 16-23.

Wednesday: Sunny in the morning, some clouds move in during the afternoon. High 30-37.

Thursday: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, slight chance for a rain or snow shower late in the day and at night. High 34-41.

Friday: Some morning clouds, then becoming partly to mostly sunny and breezy. High 31-38.

Saturday: A mix of sun and clouds. High 26-33.

Sunday: Partly to mostly cloudy and breezy with a chance for snow or rain. High 30-37.

It’s going to rain again. No, we’re not kidding. Mother Nature has apparently decided that we need more rain. A lot of it in fact. Yes, really. So keep your umbrellas handy, you’ll need them more than once this week.  Better than keeping the shovels ready, right?

We start the week off with, you guessed it – rain. Low pressure will head into the eastern Great Lakes today. This is the same system that produced blizzard conditions from the Rockies across the Plains and into the Chicago area over the weekend. We’ll be on the warm side of it, so we just get rain. A lot of rain, but still, just rain. Unless of course, you’re in the Berkshire, or the Lakes Region of New Hampshire (or maybe interior southern Maine). The heaviest rain is expected from late this afternoon into tonight, just in time to make your Monday afternoon commute even more miserable. We may also have some gusty winds accompanying the rain, especially along the coastline.

The rain winds down late Monday night, and everything improves on Tuesday, right? Not quite. An upper-level low pressure area will slowly move across the region during Tuesday and Wednesday. This will keep plenty of clouds around, though a few sunny breaks are possible at times. We’ll still have some pop-up showers at times, but since it’ll be turning colder, some of those showers could contain some wet snow.

High pressure finally builds in for Thursday and Friday, which means you can put the umbrellas away for a few days and actually use your sunglasses! That’s right, the sun will return! Oh, it’ll still be chilly, it is the end of November after all. The clouds come back in late Friday as a weak storm system moves toward the area. It’ll give us a few rain or snow showers Friday night into Saturday morning. That system moves out quickly, but another one quickly follows that will be more potent. In fact, it will behave similarly to today’s storm. We’ll have rain moving in for Sunday, possibly heavy. We need more rain, right? Again, would you rather have more rain or snow instead? That’s what we thought. Longer-range models indicate that the stormy pattern will likely continue into next week. Eventually it’ll be cold enough that one of these storms will be snow. Which one? We can’t say for sure at this point, but you know it’s coming at some point.

Monday: Cloudy and becoming breezy with rain developing, possibly heavy in the afternoon. High 40-47.

Monday night: Cloudy and windy with rain likely, possibly heavy in the evening, tapering off overnight. Low 36-43.

Tuesday: More clouds than sunshine, breezy, chance for a shower or two. High 39-46.

Tuesday night: Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 26-33.

Wednesday: Plenty of clouds with some sunny breaks at times, a few rain or snow showers are also possible. High 36-43.

Thursday: Sunshine and a few clouds, breezy. High 38-45.

Friday: Sunny in the morning, clouds start to move in during the afternoon. Some rain or snow showers are possible at night. High 36-43.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy, rain or snow showers ending early, then rain redevelops overnight. High 38-45.

Sunday:  Cloudy with periods of rain. High 43-50, possibly warmer across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Well, now that we’ve had our first snow of the year, who’s ready for more? Yup, there’s snow on the way for parts of the region. After that, everyone can expect some frozen turkey for Thanksgiving. Let’s get right to the details.

We start the week off with a fairly benign system moving across the region. Any rain or snow showers will end towards midday. The clouds will remain in place as another system will quickly follow. This system will be a little more potent tonight into Tuesday. It will also be a lot more complicated. Precipitation will redevelop around midnight. If you live north and west of 495, the precipitation will likely be in the form of snow. For the rest of us, it’ll start as rain. The precipitation will continue into the morning, then by late morning, the rain/snow line will start to sag southward towards the Boston area. Everything should wind down by early afternoon. Snow accumulations will range from a dusting in the Boston area, to a couple of inches north and west of Boston, to 3-5 inches from the Merrimack Valley into Southern New Hampshire.

This brings us to Wednesday. An arctic cold front will cross the region. This front may be accompanied by some snow showers or squalls during the afternoon hours. Behind the front, we’re looking at the coldest air so far this fall for Thanksgiving Day. Low temperatures in the teens, possibly even some single numbers in the cold spots, may set new record lows. If you’re heading out to a high school football game, you’d better bundle up, since wind chills will be in the single numbers or below zero. We’ll have plenty of sunshine during the afternoon, but it won’t help that much, as high temperatures will be stuck in the 20s for most of us. Thursday night will also be quite cold, so keep that in mind if you’re going to wait outside for Black Friday sales.

Don’t worry, the cold shot will be brief as we’ll see temperatures start to moderate for Friday and Saturday as high pressure slides offshore.  The next storm system moves in for Saturday night and Sunday. Unlike the last couple, this one should be mostly rain. In fact, it might be a lot of rain. But, at least it’ll be rain, not snow, right?

Monday: Cloudy with some snow or rain showers during the morning. High 38-45, except 46-53 across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Monday night: Rain redeveloping inside I-495, snow north and west. Low 30-37.

Tuesday: Rain changing to snow, ending late in the day. Accumulations less than 1″ in Metro Boston, 1-3″ north and west of Boston, 2-4″ in the Merrimack Valley and the NH Seacoast, and 3-5″ in southern New Hampshire. High 33-40 early, warmer across southeastern Massachusetts. Temperatures slowly drop during the afternoon.

Tuesday night: Becoming partly cloudy. Low 20-27.

Wednesday: A mix of sun and clouds, becoming breezy. Some snow showers or squalls are possible late in the day. High 33-40.

Thanksgiving: Mostly sunny, breezy, and cold. High 18-25.

Friday: Mostly sunny. High 25-32.

Saturday: Increasing clouds, rain develops at night. High 40-47.

Sunday: Breezy with rain, possibly heavy. High 45-52.

It’s coming. The day you’ve been dreading for a while. For some of us, that day will happen this week. That’s right, the first snowflakes of the season could occur within the next 7 days.

The week starts off on a bright but chilly note with high pressure in control. We’ll have some sunshine today, but clouds move in this afternoon as low pressure starts to move towards the region. This system will bring in another shot of rain, possibly heavy on Tuesday, because we haven’t had enough rain yet this fall. The rain may start as some wet snow in parts of central and southern New Hampshire, but for the majority of us, this will be a rain event. The rain will continue for much of the day, tapering off around dinner time, but it’s the evening and overnight hours that we’re actually concerned about.

As the storm pulls away Tuesday night, gusty northwest winds will usher some of the coolest air so far this fall into the region. Temperatures will drop rather quickly Tuesday night, so any roads that are still wet could start to ice up during the evening, mainly from the Merrimack Valley northward. So, if you’re heading out Tuesday evening, be careful and pay a little more attention to the roads you’re on. Skies clear out Tuesday night as high pressure builds in, setting up Wednesday with sunshine along with windy and cold conditions. Winds will diminish late in the day, which means that Wednesday night will be quite chilly with clear skies and light winds setting up a good night for radiational cooling.

Thursday will be a lot like today. We’ll start off with sunshine and chilly conditions, but clouds will start to move om ahead of another storm system. While this storm will likely bring another round of locally heavy rain in Thursday night and Friday, it may not be all rain. we’ll be starting off cooler than today. The precipitation may start as snow, even into the Boston area, but a change to rain is expected. Some accumulations are possible before the changeover, especially across southern New Hampshire and possibly the Merrimack Valley. The rain ends on Friday, then high pressure builds in for the weekend with breezy and cold conditions once again. don’t be surprised if a few flurries develop as an upper-level low pressure system crosses the region.

Monday: Sunny and chilly to start, clouds move in during the afternoon. High 42-49.

Monday night: Becoming cloudy with rain developing after midnight, possibly mixed with some wet snow in southern New Hampshire. Low 35-42.

Tuesday: Rain, heavy at times through early afternoon, tapering off and ending late in the day. Becoming breezy. High 45-52, warmer across southeastern Massachusetts, southern Rhode Island, and Cape Cod.

Tuesday night: Clearing and windy. Low 24-31.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, windy, and colder. Winds diminish late in the day. High 31-38.

Thursday: Sunny and cold early, clouds move back in during the afternoon. Snow develops at night, changing to rain before daybreak from south to north. High 33-40.

Friday: Rain, possibly heavy at times, ending in the afternoon. High 41-48.

Saturday: A mix of sun and clouds, breezy, chance for a few rain or snow showers. High 40-47.

Sunday: Partly sunny, slight chance for a snow flurry. High 30-37.