Heavy rain for Boston area, snow further west and north in first major winter storm
A multi-faceted, long-duration, coastal storm will envelope New England through early Saturday. While the snow won't be the main story in southern New England, the heavy rain and wind will make this a very impactful storm for the entire region.
Ski country will get plenty of snow in time for the holidays, with a small amount of snow coating the Boston area Saturday morning.
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Thousands of people without power in New Hampshire
The storm left more than 50,000 people in New Hampshire without power as of 7 a.m. on Saturday.
Crews said they will spend the day working to clear roads and restore power.
Customers without power for 24 hours should call their service providers.
Rain soaks Eastern Mass.
The storm brought drenching rain to the Boston area. WBZ-TV's Kristina Rex reports.
Heavy snow in Central Mass.
Heavy snow blanketed parts of Central Massachusetts Friday. WBZ-TV's Christina Hager reports from Ashby.
Winter Weather Advisory extended
National Weather Service extends the winter weather advisory into northwestern Middlesex county through Sat AM...these towns will see several inches additional snow accum pic.twitter.com/8NHasKLt58
— Terry Eliasen (@TerryWBZ) December 16, 2022
Updated snow totals
Rowe, MA 13.0 in
Plainfield, MA 12.0 in
Chester, MA 12.0 in
Hawley, MA 9.0 in
Goshen, MA 7.0 in
Fitchburg, MA 7.0 in
Ashby, MA 6.5 in
Ashfield, MA 6.0 in
Ashburnham, MA 6.0 in
Huntington, MA 6.0 in
Gardner, MA 5.7 in
Winchendon, MA 5.0 in
Storm leaves some flights delayed at Logan Airport
Almost 100 flights were delayed out of Logan airport on Friday morning. But travelers who spoke to WBZ-TV actually expected conditions to be worse.
Dozens of crashes reported in New Hampshire
New Hampshire State Police are urging people to be careful if they have to hit the roads on Friday. Troopers responded to 47 crashes and cars off the road between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.
"Leave yourself extra time to get to your destination; if possible, stay home and wait until the weather improves," State Police said.
They also reminded drivers to make sure to clean the snow and ice off their car before traveling.
Snowing in Winchendon
Snowy scenes in Winchendon, where we’ve picked up about 2” of heavy, wet snow. ❄️ pic.twitter.com/LZ2rxTokJ9
— Jacob Wycoff (@4cast4you) December 16, 2022
Expected Snow Totals
"Salt is going to be pretty effective"
"The further west you go, the more difficult it's going to get," MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said about driving during Friday's storm.
Since pavement temperatures are higher than what they'd be during the middle of winter, Gulliver also said "salt is going to be pretty effective."
Preparing for the winter storm
Winter weather is expected in parts of central and western Massachusetts. Public works crews and ski resorts in New England are bracing for what is to come.
School closings in Massachusetts, Southern NH
Check the latest school closings here.
Storm Timeline
By Terry Eliasen, WBZ Weather Executive Producer
The rain and snow overspread the entire area by dawn Friday.
During the day Friday, the rain will come down heavy at times for most of the region. There will be some localized flooding and ponding on the roadways. We expect 1-to-2 inches of water (on average) with the potential of up to 3 inches.
Snow will continue falling in northern Worcester County, southwestern New Hampshire, and the Berkshires.
The winds will get real gusty out of the east during the day Friday. At the coastline, where there is a wind advisory, we could see gusts close to 50 miles per hour. The rest of the area will be gusting closer 20-to-40 mph during the day and evening.
By Friday night, some colder air will start getting drawn in and the rain will change to a wet snow from west to east. Expect several hours of light to moderate snow early Saturday morning, with light accumulation for areas like Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties.