What we lacked in January, we are making up in February as a colder, snowier pattern has taking hold. While we have a good chunk of snow and wind to deal with on this storm, it’s not as clean cut as the last couple that have rolled in, as mixing with some rain/sleet presents a bit of a challenge to the forecasted snow totals. Bottom line though, another major storm is on our hands.
Scattered bursts of snow showers turn to a steadier snow this afternoon as the storm moves in from the west. Snow will become heavy at times mid to late afternoon and into the evening. Along the coast, an ocean wind throws in some milder air, mixing in rain drops with that snow, and at times, a few drops may mix in back toward Route 128. The best chance to see some rain mixed in is when precipitation is lighter. When it’s a heavier burst, cold air can mix out that milder ocean air and you flip to snow. This evening (couple hours either side of midnight), there will likely be a bit of a lull, where light mixed precipitation falls, but it’s not all that heavy. It’s also at this time, a little warm nose of air around 1,000-2,000 feet up tries to sneak in, even allowing a mix to occur just west of I-95. After 2am, the cold air comes back in from northwest to southeast and precipitation fills back in, mainly in the form of snow. That snow could be heavy at times predawn, through the morning commute, even close to the coast. Still following?…. Yes, it’s a bit complicated. Snow tapers off mid morning to early afternoon from west to east.
Snow totals as follows… Again, the lower amounts right near the coast is counting on some mixing to take place.
The wind… Obviously a concern too, but doesn’t correlate perfectly with the heaviest precipitation. The wind increases tomorrow morning and peaks midday, through the afternoon. With the combination of strong winds and leftover snow in the morning, along with subfreezing temps, the morning commute is likely tough sledding, away from Southeast Mass, with reduced visibility, snowy/icy roads and winds gusting 30-40mph.
Winds peak at 60-65mph for Cape Ann and Cape Cod in the afternoon, 40-50mph along the rest of the coast and 30-40mph inland in the afternoon. Scattered power outages are possible with the wetter snow and strong winds.
Coastal flooding… The strongest winds are from the north and northwest which somewhat mitigates the full fury of this powerful storm. Minor to pockets of moderate coastal flooding are still likely during the 1-2PM high tides. Even moderate to near major coastal flooding is possible from the north facing shore of Cape Cod from Sandwich to Dennis.
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