4:30 pm Tuesday Weather Update For Western & Central Mass

What a band of heavy snow that's pushing through the area right now. We've picked up about 1 inch of snow in just the last 30-45 minutes or so here in Sturbridge with some very large snowflakes falling.

That band of heavy snow will continue to traverse the rest of Central Mass over the next 30-45 minutes or so. Once this heavy snow band moves to the east, it is expected that the snow will quickly change to sleet and then freezing rain across the entire area from south to north.

The changeover from snow to sleet seems to have just occurred here in Sturbridge. This change to sleet and then freezing rain is likely to occur across areas near and south of the Mass Pike over the next hour or so.

North of the Mass Pike, the change from snow to sleet and then freezing rain is likely to occur from south to north between about 6 pm and 8 pm.

Once the precipitation changes to freezing rain, that freezing rain is expected to continue throughout all of this evening right through past midnight tonight.

It is expected that the freezing rain will end between about 3 am and 5 am Wednesday morning.

Ice amounts tonight are expected to range from one tenth (0.10") to two tenths (0.20") of an inch across the northern Worcester Hills to around one quarter of an inch (0.25") of ice across the rest of the area that are located north of the Mass Pike. For areas near and south of the Mass Pike, between one quarter (0.25") and one third (0.33") of an inch of ice is a strong possibility tonight.

Roads across the area are currently reported to be slick due to the heavy snow band that has just pushed through. Use caution if you are out and about.

I am anticipating to see very icy conditions tonight due to the expected freezing rain. This will make travel very hazardous and I urge you to exercise extreme caution if you have to go out. Also, watch that first step if going outdoors. Stairs, decks, parking lots and sidewalks will all be very icy tonight.

Snow Begins By Early Afternoon; Snow Then Changes To Freezing Rain By This Evening Across Western & Central Mass

Radar imagery and weather observations indicate that snow has begun to fall across western Connecticut as of 10:30 am. It is expected that this snow will continue expanding eastward into Western and Central Mass over the next 2-3 hours or so.

Snow looks to begin across Western Mass by about midday. The snow is then expected to begin across Central Mass by about 1 pm, if not a little earlier than that.

The snow is then expected to last through the rest of this afternoon and not begin to change to freezing rain until this evening. Also, I expect that the snow may fall at a moderate intensity at times. This means that roads will likely be slick this afternoon due to the snow & slow going commute home can be expected.

A change from snow to freezing rain looks to take place from south to north during this evening. This change to freezing rain looks to first occur across areas near and south of the Mass Pike by between 5 pm and 7 pm. The snow then looks to change to freezing rain across areas north of the Mass Pike between about 6 pm and 9 pm.

The freezing rain is then expected to continue throughout the rest of this evening & right through midnight. All freezing rain should come to an end during the predawn hours of Wednesday morning.

Snow amounts this afternoon look to average between 1 and 2 inches. Amounts of up to 3 inches are possible in the northern Worcester Hills and across the hilltowns of the Pioneer Valley.

Ice accumulations tonight look to average between one tenth (0.10") and two tenths (0.20") of an inch. Upwards of one quarter of an inch (0.25") of ice is a possibility across areas near and south of the Mass Pike.

As I already mentioned, roads this afternoon will be slippery due to the falling snow. Use caution if you are out and about and be aware that the afternoon commute is going to be a slow one.

Roads tonight are expected to be potentially quite slippery due to the icing conditions from freezing rain. Extreme caution is advised if you are going to have to be out and about on roads. Also, watch that first step when going outside as stairs, decks, sidewalks and parking lots will all be icy due to the freezing rain.

A Mixture Of Snow & Freezing Rain Is Expected From Tuesday Afternoon Through Tuesday Night Across Western & Central Mass

For The Rest Of This Afternoon & Tonight: An Arctic air mass is expected to remain over the area throughout the rest of this afternoon and tonight.

Lots of sunshine can be expected throughout the rest of this afternoon. Temperatures will be generally in the middle 20s. Winds will be West at 5 to 10 mph.

Clear skies are expected throughout tonight. Low temperatures will be near 15 Degrees. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Snow, Freezing Rain & Rain Is Expected Tuesday Afternoon & Tuesday Night: An area of low pressure is expected to track across southern New England during Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. This storm system is expected to bring a messy mixture of snow, freezing rain and rain to the entire area during Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. This will lead to the likelihood of slick conditions and slow going on area roads while it snows Tuesday afternoon and becomes freezing rain later Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening.

Snow is expected to overspread the entire area by midday across Western Mass. The snow then looks to develop across Central Mass during the early afternoon hours of Tuesday.

Snow is then expected to continue throughout much of Tuesday afternoon before it rapidly changes to freezing rain from south to north across the entire area between about 5 pm and 8 pm.

Freezing rain then looks to occur across the entire area during Tuesday evening. A brief change to all rain looks possible, especially across areas near and south of the Mass Pike during Tuesday evening while mostly all freezing rain occurs north of the Mass Pike.

The freezing rain and rain looks to come to an end during the predawn hours of Wednesday morning.

As for snow and ice amounts – Snow amounts during Tuesday afternoon will be between 1 and 2 inches across all of Western and Central Mass.

Ice amounts during Tuesday night looks to average between one tenth of an inch (0.10”) and two tenths of an inch (0.20”).

Again, roads are likely to be slippery throughout Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night due to the snow accumulation Tuesday afternoon and then the icy conditions due to freezing rain Tuesday night. This will certainly impact the Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening commute & slow going conditions on roads is very likely.

High temperatures Tuesday will be near 35 Degrees. Low temperatures Tuesday night will be near 30 Degrees. Winds on Tuesday will be South at 7 to 14 mph. Winds on Tuesday night will be West at around 10 mph.

Wednesday Through Friday: A shift towards some milder temperatures are expected during the second half of this week. Additionally, the weather looks more unsettled than not between Wednesday and Friday.

Wednesday looks sunny to partly sunny with high temperatures near 50 Degrees. Winds will be West at 6 to 12 mph.

Thursday is expected to be cloudy and there will be some scattered rain showers during the afternoon. High temperatures will be near 45 Degrees.

The weather will need to be watched during Thursday night into Friday as yet another low pressure system tracks across the region. This low pressure system is expected to bring quite a slug of precipitation into our area starting during the predawn hours of Friday morning and continuing through Friday morning. Some of the weather forecast guidance are pointing towards a scenario where cold air will be locked in near the ground. Should this occur, it would mean we’d see a period of freezing rain during Friday morning, especially across areas north of the Mass Pike. This is something that’ll need to be watched closely going forward.

For now, I’m going to go with rain with areas of freezing rain beginning during the predawn hours of Friday morning and continuing through all of Friday morning. Rain and freezing rain then ends by midday Friday.

Low temperatures Thursday night will be near 30 Degrees. High temperatures Friday will be near 35 Degrees. OUR BUSY WINTER IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TRUDGING ON THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK WITH THE EXPECTATION OF SNOW & ICE TOMORROW AFTERNOON & TOMORROW NIGHT & POSSIBLY MORE ICE & RAIN FRIDAY MORNING. NO REST FOR THIS VERY TIRED METEOROLOGIST, THAT'S FOR SURE!!

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