This entire forecast will revolve around my thoughts regarding the winter storm that’s expected from late tonight through Friday. The worst part of this storm is expected between 5 am and midday Friday and this will lead to a very significant impact to the Friday morning commute.
Let Me Break This Storm Down More For You:
When Will The Snow Begin Tonight? - It looks like snow will rapidly overspread Western and Central Mass between 2 and 3 am tonight.
A “Thump” Of Heavy Snow Expected Late Tonight & During Friday Morning: Once it begins snowing late tonight, the snow will rapidly become moderate to heavy in intensity within 30 to 60 minutes of starting.
A big “thump” of heavy snow is then expected across the entire area between about 3 and 4 am Friday morning until about 10 am to midday Friday. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are expected during this time period and this will fully impact the Friday morning commute making travel very difficult.
Where & When Will The Snow Change To Sleet? - The most complicated and difficult part of this forecast is how far north will the changeover line from snow to sleet make it into our area later Friday morning and Friday afternoon. This is an important part of the forecast because if we see a quick change to sleet across most of the area, it’ll cut down significantly on total snow amounts. On the other hand, if we see the snow-sleet line barely push into the area Friday morning, it would lead to widespread 10 to 15 inch snowfall amounts across all of Western and Central Mass.
One factor that may delay the changeover from snow to sleet is the intensity of the snow Friday morning. It’s expected to be snowing heavily everywhere Friday morning and this will lead to a net overall cooling of the atmosphere and thus delay the intrusion of the snow-sleet line.
My thinking is that we may see a change from heavy snow to heavy sleet first occur along and south of the Mass Pike by about the 10 am to midday time frame Friday. The changeover from snow to sleet may reach as far north as about Route 2 by about early Friday afternoon. Areas north of Route 2 looks to stay as all snow through the entire storm.
Sleet Changes Back To Snow Mid-Afternoon Friday: It looks like a rapid changeover from sleet back to snow will occur across the entire area by mid-afternoon Friday. This snow looks to persist through late afternoon Friday and into early Friday evening.
When Will The Storm Be Over? - It looks like all snow will end across the entire area between about 6 pm and 9 pm Friday evening.
My Latest Forecast Impact Map In Terms Of Snow, Sleet & Freezing Rain Amounts Is Attached To This Post.
More updates on this storm will be posted as needed.
Comments