We had a nice start to the week this Monday after a few snow showers early on this morning! They didn’t amount to much and were mainly south of the Mass Pike but some towns did see a little coating.
Once the snow and clouds departed, we were left with sunshine this afternoon and temperatures that climbed above average — to the 40s for most of us.
Temperatures in the 40s are mild for January, typically we’re in the 30s now. In fact we’re entering what is statistically the coldest part of the year. The week from January 15 to January 22nd is when we have our coldest average high temperatures.
So when I say temperatures “cool down” over the next couple of days, keep in mind that will only set us back to reality. We’ll hang out in the 30s for Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll cloud over on Thursday with our next system on the way. A few showers may move in during the afternoon hours though the bulk of the storm will be Thursday evening and overnight into Friday.
That system (our next system) is currently coming ashore on the West Coast and not coming quietly. You might have heard of the Atmospheric River that continues to pummel California. An Atmospheric River is what you might imagine it as. It’s a “river” of moisture in the upper levels of the atmosphere that as it comes ashore just dumps relentless rain over the same areas. While in California’s case it’s good news for the drought, the fact that so much is coming in such little time is leading to landslides and significant flooding.
That moisture will eventually head to the East Coast by the end of the week. Unfortunately for snow lovers it’s another rain maker through and through. Even Ski Country, while starting as a little bit of snow will flip to rain for most of the event.
Right now (keep in mind this is still several days away) precipitation chances breakdown like this:
Thursday: Afternoon spotty shower possible. Mainly rain, possibly a few flakes mixing in NW of 495.
Thursday night/Friday: Rain, some wind. Not damaging, not likely to advisory level but a noticeable wind.
Friday night/Saturday: Rain tapers to scattered showers
Sunday: Storm exits pulling in a few snow showers in behind it.