As you’ve no doubt heard or read about by now, we are watching a coastal storm for Friday. The forecast has been trending farther and farther south and away from us. The problem is that the forecast is also trending toward a stronger storm. In fact it’s possible that this storm could "bomb"…that’s the fancy word meteorologists use to describe a storm whose central pressure drops by 24mb in 24 hours. The lower the pressure…the stronger the storm!
A stronger storm is more likely to throw some snow bands back toward us as it pulls away from the coast. Right now it looks like a coating to maybe 1" of snow for metro Boston and 1"-3" is the best bet for the Cape and the Islands. Its possible that the Outer Cape and Nantucket could get more. The question centers around whether the storm strengthens and tightens up or strengthens and expands. It’s the latter that could result in more snow for parts of the Cape and Nantucket. Either way, there will likely be a sharp cut-off between the haves and the have-nots. A span of only 35-40 miles will likely be the difference between a few inches of snow and a few flurries. West of 495 it will just be a mostly cloudy day.
Expect gusty winds along with the snow. It will be breezy everywhere but down right windy near the coast. Wind gusts of 40-50 mph will be possible for the Cape and the Islands. Strong onshore winds may lead to some minor coastal flooding around high tide Saturday morning.
Temperature wise…we start of in the upper teens to low 20s Friday morning and warm to the mid 30s Friday afternoon. Temperatures stay below normal though the weekend and then the warm-up begins!! Some 60s and even some 70s will be possible by the middle of next week. I hope I don’t jinx us by writing what I am thinking…but I’m thinking Friday *could* be the coldest weather we see until the fall!!