A gusty squall line ushered in colder air overnight, and you may notice a few branches down this morning. The winds have greatly diminished this morning, but are still going. It will continue to be breezy and bright today with temperatures staying in the lower 40s. Yesterday’s warm weather averaged out to 21 degrees above normal and helped put the first week of March over 2 degrees above average.
But in spite of this early spring-like weather, I do have some snow to talk about. Interestingly, since December, we’ve had three occurrences where the temperature has been in record warm territory followed within 48 hours by snow. Tomorrow will be the fourth time.
Unless we get a really big snowstorm, March snow is quite different from what occurs during the colder months. For one thing, snow that falls during daylight hours is fighting the higher angle of the sun. Even though it’s cloudy enough, solar radiation gets through, heating the asphalt enough to melt snow. This makes it more difficult for snow to accumulate on the roads, and that will be the case Wednesday. The snow will arrive during the afternoon and could come down moderately for several hours around the afternoon commute.
In terms of accumulation, car tops‚ grassy surfaces, decks, and gardens will see the most snow, generally one to three inches, with that 3-inch amount most likely in the higher elevations south of Boston. I wouldn’t be surprised if a spot or two even got 4 inches. On the roadways, there may be some slushy accumulation, but it shouldn’t be anything more than that. The evening commute tomorrow will likely be slower than it typically would be because of the falling snow and the wet roadways. After dark, roads will be the most slick and DPW crews could be called out to treat.
The snow will end during the first part of the evening Wednesday. Temperatures will fall below freezing, and there may be a few icy spots Thursday morning from the residual moisture that has frozen. With plenty of sunshine and temperatures up near 50 Thursday afternoon, all the snow will disappear.
We will conclude the work week with milder than average temperatures reaching near or just above 50 degrees.
The next storm system is a little more intense, but also will bring in warm air, so we’re looking at a rainstorm and not a snowstorm. The rain should arrive later Friday night, continuing the first half or two-thirds of Saturday.
I’m generally expecting around an inch of rainfall — not enough for any flooding issues, but enough to keep the ground quite wet.
After this system, it will turn blustery and colder for Sunday. Remember, Sunday is the shortest day of the year because we lose an hour by setting our clocks ahead. Daylight saving time starts, and the sunrise Sunday morning will be just before 7 a.m., with the sunset of course much later, at 6:48 p.m.