It’s not enough snow to make for a white Christmas, but it is just enough snow to keep some of us in the “holiday spirit” while we make it out for the mad-dash for last minute gifts… Or, it could make that mad-dash much worse by slowing up traffic and creating a few slick spots on Sunday. I guess it depends on how you look at it, and also it depends on where you are located!
Ocean-effect snow showers will continue through tonight and into Sunday for the South Shore and most of SE Mass. The Cape and islands are just getting rain showers, but a few wet snowflakes could work in very early tomorrow morning to “make some spirits bright.” Temps, as I type, are very near the freezing mark (and a few below), so any snow that falls from here on out will likely stick on grassy/untreated surfaces. This could make for some slick spots tomorrow, so if your “mad-dash” takes you out early in the day, use caution!
Here’s a pic that @Cruz781 sent me this evening (7:31pm) from Quincy:
If that’s what it looks like now, tomorrow it could look like a winter wonderland until the temps rise into the mid to upper 30s in the afternoon.
After these light snow showers tonight and early Sunday, the next two days will be very uneventful. Clouds will stick around, temps will gradually rise, there may even been a few spot showers (mostly drizzle), but it Monday-Tuesday is really the calm before the storm.
It seems we’ve really set up this “all rain with any storm” pattern so far this winter (even though winter doesn’t officially start until Sunday evening). Temperatures will be way too mild for any snow on Christmas Eve (maybe even close to 60°!). We’re in for 1-2″ of rain and very strong winds with this storm system. We will be watching out for minor coastal flooding with this one, as astronomical tides will be high as it is – more rain and wind will only add insult to injury. The good news is, the sunshine may join us again on the afternoon of Christmas Day.
I can’t help but think about all of the snow we would have if we had the cold air. With the average snow-to-rain ratio of 10 to 1 (meaning 10 inches of snow for every inch of rain), we could be talking 1 to 2 feet of snow, just with this incoming storm. When you think about all of the rain we’ve had already this December (5.55″), we would been talking about close to 4 1/2″ feet of snow, even before this next storm. Alas, the cold air just isn’t in place.. So for now, we must just keep dreaming of a white Christmas, and maybe start thinking about a white New Year!
Best days to head out “over the river and through the woods” will be Monday and Tuesday. It’s a lot like our Thanksgiving storm in the respect that “the early bird gets the worm” means, DON’T WAIT!
Happy holidays! – Bri