Snowfall Weather Forecast: A Messy Thursday Night Brings Ice, Sleet, and Plowable Snow—While Warmth Looms Next
The latest snowfall weather forecast for the Boston area and wider Southern New England points to a familiar late-winter problem: a warm day followed by a rapid return to near-freezing conditions, setting the stage for a wintry mix that could snarl the Thursday evening commute and make untreated roads slick into early Friday (ET).
What is the timing for the Snowfall Weather Forecast from Thursday afternoon into early Friday (ET)?
After a dry start Thursday morning, a new storm is expected to push into New England Thursday afternoon and last into the early hours of Friday (ET). The day begins cold, with the commute into work in the upper 20s under cloudy skies, then temperatures recover into the low 40s for much of the region, while Boston and coastal Southern New England may stay in the upper 30s.
As conditions change after dark, travel is expected to deteriorate hour by hour. Precipitation may begin by late morning in places including Worcester, Providence, Western Massachusetts, and Connecticut, while the morning commute is expected to remain dry. By mid to late afternoon, a wintry mix is expected to reach Greater Boston, with a blend that includes snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain—an evolution that could make the drive home slow and slippery.
Where are the worst hazards expected: icing, sleet, or heavier snow?
The hazard profile varies sharply by location, especially relative to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The precipitation is expected to start as a mixture of rain and sleet across southern New England, then sort itself into different bands overnight (ET): mainly rain south of the Mass Pike, and a mix of sleet, freezing rain, and snow to the north. North of the Pike, untreated roadways are expected to quickly become slick and treacherous.
The greatest concern for ice accretion is focused on southern Worcester County and in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, where up to 0. 25 inches or more may accrete on power lines, trees, and untreated surfaces around homes. Separately, pockets of localized flooding are also a concern across southeastern Massachusetts, where most of the precipitation is expected to fall as rain. Rain totals there are expected in the 1. 0 to 1. 5 inch range, falling onto an area that still has extensive snowpack.
Snow is expected to become more of a factor later in the night north of the Pike. After midnight (ET), temperatures are expected to cool enough for sleet to change over to snow across northern portions of Worcester, Middlesex, and Essex counties, as well as southern New Hampshire. Snow could fall heavily at times around and just before dawn, then taper after 7 a. m. (ET).
How much snow and sleet is expected—and what should commuters watch for?
The current snowfall weather forecast includes plowable snow in some northern areas and smaller, more variable totals closer to the coast and south of the Pike. Forecast amounts call for 3 to 6 inches of snow in northern Middlesex County and most of Essex County, as well as southeastern New Hampshire. Worcester County, southern Middlesex County, and Suffolk County are expected to see 1 to 3 inches of sleet and snow. Just south of the Pike, only scattered coatings of sleet are expected.
In the Greater Boston area, the setup is expected to feature a dry start under mostly cloudy skies and highs reaching the upper 30s, followed by a wintry mix entering by mid to late afternoon. The expected mix includes more raindrops than snowflakes at times, with a messy night as colder air works in and the precipitation type changes.
Winter weather advisories for accumulating snow and sleet are in place for much of the region beginning Thursday evening and lasting into the start of Friday (ET). Regardless of exact snow totals, patchy ice and widespread sleet are expected across Southern New England Thursday evening into early Friday, with slippery conditions likely in many places away from the immediate coast.
Once the storm clears, the near-term story is expected to shift quickly. The forecast calls for a turn toward warmth and melting next week, with highs between 60 and 70 degrees from Sunday through at least Tuesday (ET), a change expected to accelerate snow cover loss.
