March can be a month of extreme variations in the weather. One day it can be in the 50s and the next we can have several inches of heavy wet snow. The tamer side of March was on display today, with a change to the wilder side of the month coming up next.
Low pressure will redevelop near the Virginia coast and then start to track out over the open waters south of New England and strengthen over the next two days or so. The storm should track close enough to give the Pioneer Valley Region some accumulating snow, gusty winds and this will be enough to cause travel headaches, especially Thursday and Thursday night.
Although some light rain and or snow showers may fall Wednesday afternoon the steadier precipitation does not arrive until after nightfall and it should continue to snow overnight Wednesday through Thursday night. The snow will initially have difficulty accumulating and probably we will start to see accumulations begin after midnight. Most of the heaviest snow looks to fall east of the area, through Worcester County and northeast Massachusetts away from the immediate coast. Last evening we mentioned that up to 4 inches of snow could accumulate, more if the storm were to track closer. As of this evening the thinking is 2 to 4 inches throughout greater Springfield with up to 6 inches possible in the hills. This is still an early estimate and can fluctuate one way or the other as we update the storm details Wednesday. The snow will be pasty and stick to everything, which means with gusty winds it could be a problem in causing damage to tree limbs and wires.
This storm will be a slow mover and with that we could see lingering snow showers or periods of light snow into Friday as well.
Over the weekend the sun returns, with temperatures jumping back into the 40s.
Short Term Forecast:
Wednesday: Becoming cloudy, rain and snow showers developing in the afternoon. Highs 36 to 41. Winds increasing out of the northeast and gusting to near 35 mph during the afternoon.
Wednesday night: Precipitation changes to all snow and becomes steadier overnight. Snow may accumulate after midnight. Lows 27 to 32. Winds northeast and gusting to near 35 mph.
Thursday and Thursday night: Periods of snow, diminishing overnight. Highs 30 to 35, overnight lows 27 to 32. Winds backing to the north by evening at 10 to 20 mph.
Friday: Periods of light snow or snow showers may linger in the morning. Highs 35 to 40.
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