Forecast discussion: After two days of snow and wind, the Blizzard of 2013 has passed. Now, the clean-up work continues across eastern Massachusetts. Before I begin the weather discussion, let me give you some quick facts about the storm, and some details of what happened on Saturday.
At Logan Airport in Boston, they broke a record set in 1994 for record snowfall in a 24 hour period. The airport received 14.8 inches on Saturday, breaking the previous record of 12.4 inches. Also, Boston received 24.9 inches of snow in a 2 day period. The Blizzard of 2013 is now the fifth biggest snowstorm on record. The ban that would not allow travel on any roads in the state was cancelled at 4 p.m. As of 9:15 p.m., National Grid was reporting a little under 108,000 customers were without power, while NStar was reporting about 204,000 customers were without power at this time. The highest snow totals came from Framingham and Spencer, which received 30 inches.
Right now, high pressure is settling over New England for tonight, giving us the chance to see clear, starlit skies for the first time in a few days. However, with the fresh snow, temperatures this evening, along with the clear skies, will create some frigid temperatures. Due to these cold temperatures, and those homes without power, several heating centers are being set up across the region. As we move into tomorrow, we will see sunny skies for the entire day, with temperatures just getting above freezing. This will help plows move all that snow on the secondary roads and side streets, as well as help power crews work on the lines.
As we move into Monday, we will see milder air filter into Boston, thanks to a warm front. However, the front will help create some sleet and possibly freezing rain in the first few hours of the precipitation. But, it will change over to rain showers, and temperatures will increase into the middle 40’s. High pressure will return for Tuesday, giving us mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the lower 40’s. However, by Tuesday night, temperatures will go below freezing, so any melted snow or water will turn back to ice or black ice.
We will see another dry day on Wednesday, before the possibility of another coastal low forming. This low will form over eastern Texas, move into the southeast U.S., then turn towards the Mid-Atlantic. At this time, all of the computer models take the low out to sea. So, the precipitation shield will remain to our south and east. If we were going to see rain, it would be by Thursday morning. However, with all of the computer models agreeing, I’m going to change our forecast from rain to mostly sunny skies. The dry weather will continue into Friday.
As we go into Saturday, there is the chance of seeing another low pressure system moving over Southern New England. This system could bring us a few snow showers early Saturday morning, before changing over to rain showers.
72 hour forecast:
Tonight: Clear skies and very cold with a low of 10.
Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high of 34. Winds will start from the northwest before turning to the west at 7-10 mph.
Sunday night: Mostly cloudy with a low of 22. Winds will come from the southwest at 5-8 mph.
Monday: Precipitation may start as a mix of sleet and rain by mid-morning before changing to all rain by late morning with a high of 45.
Monday night: Showers ending, with partial clearing and a low of 36.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny with a high of 45.
Tuesday night: Partly cloudy with a low of 27.
Extended Forecast:
Wednesday: Partly to mostly sunny. Highs 38-41, lows 25-28.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs 40-43, lows 24-27.
Friday: Partly to mostly sunny. Highs 41-44, lows 27-30.
Saturday: Cloudy with light snow/rain. Highs 37-40, lows 23-26.
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