Good afternoon.
Here is this afternoon's update for the storm that will continue to impact the region into early Sunday morning.
No major changes from the late morning update.
Overview...
Light snow has been steadily moving east across central and western areas. At 3 PM, the leading edge of the light snow had reached as far north as Worcester and Orange, though it remains spotty across western Massachusetts into northern Connecticut.
Timing...
- The steady snow has moved into Hartford at 315 PM, with visibility lowering to 2 miles and will reach across the remainder of northern Connecticut by 4 PM.
- Arrival time for the remainder of the region:
- Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island by around 5 PM
- Eastern Massachusetts by around 6 PM
Duration...
- This system continues to move quickly, so the snow should only last for about 3 to 6 hours. However, there will be periods of briefly heavy snow, which may fall at up to an inch per hour, which will quickly cover roadways and lower visibility.
- Approximate timeline of the steadiest snowfall:
- -- Boston: 7 pm to midnight -- Worcester to Springfield 6 pm to 11 pm
- -- Providence 7 pm to 10 pm -- Hartford 6 pm to 10 pm
Impacts:
- In those areas where locally heavy snow falls, roadways and sidewalks will quickly become snow covered, especially where they are untreated.
- Travel will be difficult through early tonight with poor visibility, but improvement is expected by around or after midnight.
Snow Totals:
- Most of the region will receive around 3 to 7 inches of snow. Higher amounts are expected across north central and western Massachusetts, with lower amounts near the south coast and across Cape Cod and the islands.
- Temperatures will slowly rise as the precipitation starts to taper off by around 11 PM or midnight, so expect the snow to change over to light rain or drizzle across RI and SE Massachusetts before ending.
- Snow may end as a period of light freezing drizzle across portions of interior Massachusetts and northern Connecticut toward midnight. Little additional impact expected from that with that falling on top of the earlier snow.
Forecast Confidence ...
- High confidence in several inches of snow through early tonight.
- High confidence that snow will stick, especially on untreated roadways with cold ground temperatures.
- Localized snow banding may result in some locations getting 1 to 2 inches more or less than what is currently expected, but overall this is a rather high confident forecast.
This will be the last email on this event unless conditions change.
Meteorologists Matt Belk and Eleanor Vallier-Talbot
If you have any questions or would like more information, don't hesitate to contact us via this email address, on NWSChat, or at the following:
National Weather Service Boston/Norton, MA
46 Commerce Way