Chalk up another frigid start to the day as lows this morning went back below 0 for many towns. As clouds thicken up through the day today, the “warm-up” is slow, but steady with temps average the mid to upper teens this afternoon. Even a few snow showers break out across Central Mass with a coating to 1/2″ in the Worcester Hills, a spotty dusting around MetroWest, few flurries in Boston and a burst of steady late-day/evening snow dropping 1-3″ of snow for the Cape and Islands with the best chance for 3″ being on Nantucket.
More arctic air follows suit after the touch of snow later today, allowing for the frozen tundra of Gillette Stadium to feel more like a Green Bay winter’s day. The kickoff temp of 14 won’t rival the 2004 game against the Titans, but with wind chills around 0, it’ll be a tailgate battle to stay warm.
We plunge deeper and deeper into the cold New Year’s Eve with First Night temps struggling to stay much above 0 by midnight for much of southern New England. Boston hovers around 5 degrees at midnight and not that far off the record low of -3 the morning of New Years Day. The other part of the story will be the busy breeze. Factor in a 15-20mph wind and wind chills run -10 to -20 by midnight and -15 to -30 by daybreak New Year’s Day. Coldest in the Worcester Hills.
Below is a list of coldest New Year’s day lows in Boston. We’ll most likely crack the top 5.
So we have all this cold, can we get a big snowstorm? It’s possible, but all depends on the track and timing of an area of low pressure that because a powerful storm off the east coast. If the tracks close enough, we’re talking significant snow Thursday into Thursday night with a lot of wind. If it’s far enough offshore, we’ll stay dry, but lots of wind is likely Thursday night and Friday as a fresh batch of bitterly cold Arctic air comes racing in. Next Friday into next weekend once again looks frigid.
Stay warm and stay safe!
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