Snowfall overspread the local area during the predawn hours and picked up in intensity as the morning commute got underway. It made for a slow and sloppy commute with numerous spin outs and accidents that further slowed traffic. The heaviest of the snowfall was generally from 6 to 9 am, with the snow now quickly tapering off and moving northeastward into Maine.
Based on observations reported by the National Weather Service at mid morning snow totals were generally 2 to 4 inches in Essex County, 3 to 5 in Middlesex County with Suffolk County reporting 1 to 2 inches. Central and western Massachusetts reports were mainly in the 3 to 5 inch range. Some of these amounts will change slightly, especially in the eastern half of the state, since the snowfall had not diminished in eastern Massachusetts as of the mid morning report.
Looking ahead for the remainder of today it appears the worst of the snow is over, so we can expect improving road conditions as the salt and sand crews get out and treat the roadways. Although precipitation may linger this afternoon, it will be very light and little if any further accumulation is expected through the afternoon hours. It was mentioned here last night that coastal areas would mix with and change to rain later in the day. That is still a possibility, but with the bulk of the precipitation having ended any liquid precipitation will have little impact on reducing the snow amounts that fell earlier. We may end up with a bit of drizzle during the afternoon as well. Temperatures should max out in the mid 30s on the coast to low 30s inland.
Later tonight skies should partially clear and temperatures fall back into the mid and upper 20s inland to near 30 on the coast, which means any wet and untreated pavement will freeze up overnight.
Thursday brings us partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 30s to 40 degrees. With an approaching cold front we do have a chance of a flurry or snow shower late in the day, especially through the interior.
You may follow live regional radar here: http://images.intellicast.com/WxImages/RadarLoop/hfd_None_anim.gif
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