Watching For A Possible Winter Storm From Saturday Afternoon Through Next Sunday

Because I'm starting to receive inquiries about the chatter about a storm for next weekend, I wanted to send this out to you.

A storm system is expected to take shape over the southern United States later this coming week and then possibly move to the northeast and passing near the Cape on Saturday night. If this occurs, it would lead to several inches of snow to occur across the area beginning on Saturday afternoon and then continuing through Saturday night and next Sunday. In addition to the snow, gusty north to northeast winds during the storm would produce blowing and drifting snow leading to poor visibilities due to the combination of falling and blowing snow.

Be aware though that this is still a 6-7 day forecast and a lot can change between now and then. These changes can and probably will include the track and strength of the storm, which would lead to changes in the forecast with snowfall amounts and what sort of precipitation types we see.

While there are weather forecast guidance members that show a decent snowstorm for our area, there are also other just as reliable weather forecast guidance members that point to another miss to the south with this storm.

It goes without saying that I will be watching this storm closely throughout this coming week and will have frequent updates, as needed.

In addition to the possible storm for next weekend, I’m also keeping close tabs on the likelihood of another period of strong west to northwest winds that begins on Tuesday morning and lasts until Friday. The storm system that is now bringing all of the winter weather from the central United States to the Mid-Atlantic states (the one that’s missing us to the south) is expected to strengthen rapidly once it reaches the area well south of Nova Scotia on Tuesday. The strengthening of this storm system will lead to the pressure gradient over our area to tighten up dramatically leading to the strong winds.

This is what I’m thinking in terms of winds from Tonight to Friday:

Tonight: West to Northwest at 10 to 20 mph.

Monday: West to Northwest at 10 to 15 mph.

Monday Night: West to Northwest at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph, especially after midnight.

Tuesday & Tuesday Night: West to Northwest at 18 to 28 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

Wednesday & Wednesday Night: West to Northwest at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Thursday: West to Northwest at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.

Thursday Night & Friday: West to Northwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35-40 mph.

Finally, it looks like it’s going to be a cold week coming up with high temperatures every day this week in the 20s and low temperatures every day this week in the lower teens.

These cold temperatures combined with the gusty winds will lead to some very cold wind chill temperatures. Wind chill temperatures during the day are expected to be in the single numbers. Wind chill temperatures at night throughout this coming week are expected to be between 5 and 15 below zero.

I will have a new forecast posted for you with an update on next weekend's possible storm sometime tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

Cold Weather This Weekend & Then A Storm Stays Far Enough South To Not Affect Western & Central Mass Early Next Week

For This Afternoon: A mixture of sunshine and clouds with continued windy conditions are expected throughout this afternoon. In addition, a brief snow flurry or two is a possibility as some of the remnant moisture from Lake Effect snow squalls off of the eastern Great Lakes make it into our area.

Temperatures this afternoon will be near 35 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

Tonight & Saturday: A gusty west to northwest wind flow will push colder weather into the area for tonight and Saturday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy with low temperatures between 15 and 20 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Saturday will feature a mixture of sunshine and clouds & it’s possible that there could be a stray snow flurry during the afternoon. High temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 30-35 mph.

Sunday: An upper level low pressure system will remain anchored over Quebec province with a persistent west to northwest wind flow pushing cold temperatures into our area.

A mixture of some sunshine and lots of clouds can be expected throughout the day on Sunday. High temperatures will be between 25 and 30 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

Monday Through Tuesday: It appears that a storm system tracking from the Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic coast on Sunday into Monday will remain too far south to be any sort of an impact on our weather. Those of you that might have travel plans to areas such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC should know that a winter storm will affect them with 4 to 8 inches of snow accumulation beginning on Sunday night and continuing through Monday. Again, this storm is expected to remain too far south to affect our weather.

Monday looks cloudy with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees.

Tuesday is expected to be partly sunny with high temperatures near 25 Degrees.

Wednesday Through Next Friday: A cold and dry air mass will remain locked over the region right through at least the end of next week.

Wednesday looks partly sunny with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees.

Thursday is expected to be sunny with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees.

Next Friday will be sunny with high temperatures between 30 and 35 Degrees.

Very Windy Conditions Are Expected All Day Thursday

For This Afternoon: Lots of low-level moisture will remain locked in across the region this afternoon.

This means that skies will be cloudy throughout this afternoon with areas of drizzle and fog expected. In addition, a few rain showers are possible late this afternoon. The exception to this will be across the Berkshires where a few snow showers are possible late this afternoon.

Temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees. Winds will be West at 10 to 20 mph.

Windy Conditions Are Expected Tonight: It is expected to become increasingly more windy tonight as colder air moves into the region. Some of the stronger wind gusts after midnight could lead to downed tree limbs and power lines leading to the possibility of some power outages.

Skies tonight will be cloudy throughout the night. In addition, there will be some scattered snow and rain showers around during this evening.

Low temperatures will be near 30 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40-45 mph before midnight and West at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 45-50 mph after midnight.

Very Windy Conditions Will Continue Throughout Thursday: A very windy day is expected on Thursday with west winds that’ll gust up to 50-60 mph at times. These very windy have the potential to lead to downed tree limbs and power lines leading to some power outages.

A mixture of sunshine and clouds can be expected throughout the day on Thursday. High temperatures will be between 35 and 40 Degrees.

Winds on Thursday will be West at 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 50-60 mph at times.

Thursday Night: It will remain quite windy during Thursday night and particularly during the evening.

Skies on Thursday night will be partly cloudy with low temperatures between 20 and 25 Degrees. Winds will be West at 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph before midnight and West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35-40 mph after midnight.

Friday: Partly sunny skies with windy conditions are expected throughout the day on Friday. High temperatures will be near 35 Degrees. Winds will be West at 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.

This Weekend: A cold and windy weekend can be expected across the region.

Saturday looks partly sunny with high temperatures between 25 and 30 Degrees.

Saturday night will be partly cloudy with low temperatures between 10 and 15 Degrees.

Sunday looks partly sunny with high temperatures near 25 Degrees.

Early Next Week: I continue to keep close tabs on the progress of a low pressure system that’ll move from the Plains States and the Mississippi Valley this weekend to near the Mid-Atlantic coast on Monday. Current indications are that this storm system will move eastward off of the Mid-Atlantic coast and remain well south of our area leaving us cold and dry with no snow. That said, this forecast is still some 5 or so days away, which means the track of this storm could very well change and there are still some weather forecast guidance that hint at a further north track, which if it happened, would give us at least some snow on Monday into Tuesday.

For now though, I’m going with the scenario of no snow and with partly sunny skies on both Monday and Tuesday. High temperatures Monday will be near 25 Degrees. High temperatures Tuesday will be near 30 Degrees.