Some Snow Late Tonight & Tuesday Will Be Followed By Snow & Ice Late Wednesday Night & Thursday

For This Evening: An area of high pressure will very briefly build into the region this evening with partly cloudy skies expected. Temperatures this evening will fall through the 40s and will reach the mid and upper 30s by midnight. Winds this evening will be Northwest at 10 to 20 mph. Snow Expected Late Tonight & Tuesday: As we get into the after midnight hours, it appears that a wave of low pressure will pass just to the south of Southern New England. This will lead to snow to overspread the region between about 2 am and 4 am tonight. The question becomes how far north will the area of snow spread into our area. At this point, it appears that areas from about Route 9 and points south, including the entire Mass Pike corridor has the greatest chance of seeing steady snow from late tonight through the Tuesday morning commute. This first round of snow looks to come to an end by about mid to late morning Tuesday and there appears to be a break in between this snow and additional precipitation that’ll accompany a frontal system that moves through during the afternoon. Snow amounts with the first round of snow late tonight into Tuesday morning looks to amount from a dusting to less than one inch for areas north of Route 9, including the entire Route 2 corridor to around one inch or so of snow accumulation for areas near and south of Route 9, including the entire Mass Pike, as well as the Worcester and Springfield metro areas. It should be noted that areas near the Mass Pike could see isolated snow amounts of up to 2 inches with this first round of snow. Be aware that some roads could be slippery during the Tuesday morning as the steadiest snow with this first round will correspond with the Tuesday morning commute. A second round of snow that will accompany a frontal system that’ll be moving through looks to begin across the entire area around midday Tuesday. During Tuesday afternoon, it’s expected that snow will continue across the region and will be mixed with rain, especially across areas near and south of the Mass Pike. This snow that’ll be mixed with rain at times will continue into Tuesday evening before ending just before midnight Tuesday night. Additional snow amounts Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening looks to range from up to one inch across areas near and south of the Mass Pike to 1 to 2 more inches of snow accumulations across areas north of the Mass Pike and especially across the Worcester Hills. I think that roads, parking lots and driveways with the second round of snow should be generally wet as the snow will occur with temperatures near or slightly above freezing. Most of the snow accumulation with the second round of the snow should occur on non-pavement surfaces. Wednesday: We will be in-between weather systems during Wednesday and it appears that a partly sunny day can be expected on Wednesday. High temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees. Winds on Wednesday will be West at 10 to 20 mph. Snow & Ice Is Expected Beginning Around Midnight Wednesday Night & Continuing Through All Day Thursday & Into Thursday Evening: It looks like some very messy weather in the way of snow to begin with that changes to freezing rain and sleet is expected from late Wednesday night through all day Thursday and Thursday evening before slowly ending late Thursday night. There are actually going to be two separate weather systems with this storm. The first is a low pressure system that’ll move through just south of Southern New England during Thursday morning. A second low pressure system is expected to bring some additional ice and snow during Thursday night. The really tough part of this forecast lies with where exactly where the transition line between snow, sleet and freezing rain will set up across the region. At this point, I think that areas from north of the Mass Pike to about Route 2 has the best chance of seeing more sleet than anything else. Areas near and north of Route 2 may end up with seeing a few inches of snow followed by a snow-sleet mix. Finally, areas near and especially south of the Mass Pike may end up seeing more in the way of freezing rain than snow or sleet. So, let’s try to detail things a little more region by region: Areas Near & South Of The Mass Pike, Including I-84, I-395 & Route 146: Snow begins around midnight Wednesday night, but quickly changes to sleet during the pre-dawn hours of Thursday morning. Sleet then continues through sunrise Thursday morning before it changes to freezing rain just after sunrise Thursday morning. It appears that freezing rain will then continue throughout the morning on Thursday before it ends for a while during Thursday afternoon. It should be noted that a second round of freezing rain is possible during Thursday evening before it completely ends well after midnight Thursday night. Snow and sleet amounts Wednesday night look to amount to 1 to 2 inches. More importantly, it appears that ice amounts of around one quarter of an inch is expected during Thursday into Thursday evening. This potential freezing rain during Thursday is likely to impact travel in a big way with slick and icy conditions expected. In addition, there is the potential for ice buildup on trees and power lines, which could lead to some downed tree limbs and possible power outages. Areas North Of The Mass Pike, But South Of Route 2: Snow begins around midnight Wednesday night and continues for a few hours late Wednesday night before changing to sleet around sunrise Thursday morning. Sleet is expected during the morning on Thursday before it comes to an end by early Thursday afternoon. A break in the precipitation is expected during the mid and late afternoon hours of Thursday. A second round of precipitation in the form of freezing rain looks possible during Thursday evening before it ends well after midnight Thursday night. Snow and sleet amounts Wednesday night and Thursday look to amount to 2 to 4 inches. Ice amounts from the freezing rain Thursday evening may end up with around one tenth of an inch or so. Very slippery travel looks likely for late Wednesday night and Thursday morning due to the combination of snow and then sleet. Icy travel looks possible on Thursday evening due to freezing rain. Areas Near & North Of Route 2: Snow begins around midnight Wednesday night and continues through the late night hours of Wednesday night. Snow will change to sleet just after sunrise Thursday morning with the sleet continuing through much of the day, if not the entire day on Thursday. A period of freezing rain is possible during Thursday evening before all precipitation ends well after midnight Thursday night. Snow and sleet amounts Wednesday night through Thursday looks to amount to 3 to 5 inches. Ice amounts from the freezing rain Thursday evening may end up with around one tenth of an inch or so. Very slippery travel looks likely for late Wednesday night through the day on Thursday due to the combination of snow and then sleet. Icy travel looks possible on Thursday evening due to freezing rain.