After the blizzard that ripped through on Thursday, and another 2-4″ of snow last night… It looks as though winter has finally showed up, and it’s sticking around. Here we go again with another significant winter storm. A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for most of the Commonwealth from 7am Sunday to 7pm Monday:
There’s also a Blizzard Watch for the entire coastline of Massachusetts from late Sunday through Monday:
Remember, blizzard criteria is more about the blowing/falling/drifting snow reducing visibility – rather than about the amount of snow. As with the last storm, we are expecting very strong wind especially on Monday morning – and this could cause white-out conditions.
There is a concern overnight tonight for some freezing drizzle making for slick travel. This is not our storm system yet, but some low level moisture that will be coming in off the ocean. It’s spotty – but there’s still a concern there. If tonight’s date night, take it easy on the roads.
The show gets going around mid to late morning tomorrow and while it is all snow for most of the Bay State, it’s more of a rain/snow mix for the coast, Cape and islands. The rain/snow line will wobble back-and-forth through the day before colder air works in to kick it out during the overnight hours. Through the night and into early Monday morning, we’re talking about all snow – all across the board. As this system strengthens (you know, “bombogenesis” which is a 24mb drop within 24 hours… but this storm could even see a pressure drop of 2mb per hour!) winds will pick up and we’ll see some heavier bands/pockets of snow setting up bringing snowfall rates to 2-4″ per hour for some. Couple that with strong wind, and you have 0 visibility. We just did this on Thursday – so we know how a storm like this can disrupt travel/life. I think another snow day is certainly on the table for discussion with this storm.
The strongest wind will be Monday morning and continue to kick quite hard all day long. Initially, winds are out of the NE – but they eventually back to come out of the NW. However, this powerhouse system strengthens so fast over the ocean, it’s going to churn up the seas and make for an angry Atlantic. Even with off-shore winds out of the NW, we still could have some coastal flooding issues; less-so for the Sunday midday high tide, and more-so for the Monday early afternoon high tide.
A Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued for Sunday:
A Coastal Flood Watch has been issued for Monday (early afternoon high tide):
The snow will wrap up around 10am on Monday, but we’ll still have strong wind to contend with. We’ll keep you posted with any updates.