Well, well. Winter certainly found it’s groove yesterday as snow blanketed Southern New England. Even along the coast, the much anticipated change to accumulating snow took place, dropping a few quick inches around Boston and through most of Southeast Mass.
North and west of I-95, the snow totals were impressive, as many locations picked up 12-18″ of snow along and outside 495. A bit of colder air, and more of a fluff factor to some of the snow out that way, helped elevate the snow totals/pack a bit. Below is a good snapshot of what fell across southern New England.
Kids, if you have the day off today thanks to the snow, take advantage of it. Sledding hills and backyards will provide a great chance to have some winter fun. Fun that we have to sneak in today, through early tomorrow afternoon, before the rain sends the snowpack into meltdown mode.
As the next storm advances in from the southwest, a cold rain/mix breaks out late tomorrow afternoon.
After a brief burst of snow northwest of 495 in the late afternoon, all locations flip to rain. That rain is steady to heavy at times overnight as drenching downpours accompany the mild air that surges in. With temps climbing into the 50s overnight, the snow melts at a vigorous pace.
The combination of snow melt, and 1-3″ of rain, will allow for street flooding, poor drainage flooding, and a rapid rise of rivers and streams. Many southern New England rivers will go into minor to moderate river flooding by Wednesday/Thursday as a lot of water flows into them. A flood watch is up for most of the region.
Winds ramp up too. Gusts run 40-50mph along the coast, out of the southeast overnight, and by early Wednesday morning, they’ll push 50-60+mph out of the south. A high wind watch is in place across eastern Mass for those strong gusts and the potential of pockets of tree damage/power loss.
We’ll keep an eye on the coast too. Tides are astronomically higher than the past storm and with a storm surge of 2-4 feet, coastal flooding is possible if the max winds/surge coincide near high tide. As of now, the peak potential wind/surge combo may be closer to low tide, which would limit the flood potential.
Heavy rain and highest winds are done by 7am Wednesday. Yup, the storm packs a punch, but it’s a quick hitter.
Thursday and most of Friday is quiet.
Another storm runs through here Friday night into Saturday morning. More heavy rain and gusty winds are likely. The pattern is no doubt, an active one!
