Morning sunshine kicks off this Friday morning as temps hover near or below freezing around sunrise. Watch for a few icy spots early on the driveways and sidewalks as we’ve had some refreeze during the overnight hours. Other than that, it’s a very quite start to the day.
Sunshine fades behind thickening clouds this afternoon as highs top off around seasonable levels, in the low to mid 40s.
Snow breaks out tonight in the 10pm -1am timeframe, from west to east. That means for most locations, roads fair ok through about midnight tonight, so if you have dinner plans tonight and are heading out this evening, most of the evening is dry.
Snow intensity increases after midnight and a burst of heavy snow/heavy sleet is likely predawn tomorrow. The snow holds on the longest across northern Mass, as a lot of sleet mixes in for many predawn, through daybreak tomorrow. As an east wind increases, temps jump to the 33-36 degree ranges along and east of I-95 early tomorrow morning, allowing for some rain to mix in there as well. Bottom line, expect a mess tomorrow morning with the slickest travel away from the coast.
Winds gusts 40-55mph at the coast, strongest across the Cape and Islands. As those winds bend back to the northeast/north in the afternoon, coastal locations flip back to snow, but other than additional slushy coatings on the grass, not a lot more snow is expect.
Overall, the highest snow totals favor northern Mass, where 6-9″ is expect. 3-6″ from Worcester to the 495 belt is expected with 2-3″ likely around Boston, out the Pike and through southern Worcester County. Keep in mind, this is banking on a lot of sleet mixing in. Less sleet = higher totals and vice versa, but the overall theme of a heavy winter’s mess on the ground will be the same.
Travel conditions overall midday, into the afternoon should fair better thanks to lighter precip rates and the road crews having a chance to play catch-up after a nasty period of snow and ice around and just before daybreak.
Sunday looks mainly dry and seasonable.