New Nor'Easter To Bring Widespread Snow Wednesday Into Thursday
BOSTON (CBS) - We're still feeling the impacts along the coast from last week's nor'easter and another nor'easter is on the way for the middle of this week.
An additional round of minor flooding and splash over will occur during the afternoon high tide cycle Monday, with the persistent onshore wind and continued high surf. Wind gusts to 35 mph at the coast and 50 mph on Cape Cod and the Islands will hamper cleanup and power restoration efforts that continue in those areas.
I want to start off the bat by saying that the coastal flood threat for this upcoming storm is nowhere near what it was for this past event.
The tides are lower astronomically, the wind won't be as strong and the storm is progressive, so there will not be a prolonged onshore wind this time around.
Snow accumulation and hazardous travel will have the highest impact across the region from this storm.
Let's break down what we know right now.
TIMING
Snow arrives Wednesday late morning, after the morning drive and ramps up through the day.
The height of the storm will be Wednesday evening and overnight, where snowfall rates of 1-to-2 inches per hour are likely in the heaviest bands.
Some mixing/changeover to rain is possible along the coast and southeast Mass. Obviously, we're still about 48 hours from the onset of this event, so the placement of the rain/snow line is still uncertain at this point.
The snow will be tapering off during the Thursday morning commute.
AMOUNTS
More than 6 inches of accumulation seems likely for much of Massachusetts north and west of Boston.
The city itself and MetroWest will be right on that most uncertain zone (rain/snow line) where it could go either way. At this time, over 6 inches is possible in these areas.
Lesser totals are likely in southeastern Mass. where the quickest changeover occurs. Just north and west of where the rain/snow line sets up, the wet consistency of the snow will increase the risk of power outages if higher totals (over 6 inches) occur.
WIND
Some isolated pockets of wind damage will be possible, with the strongest wind gusts Wednesday evening.
Gusts to 50 mph on Cape Cod and 45 mph at the coast are likely. The gusty wind will also reduce visibility in blowing and drifting snow.
The wind direction will be out of the northeast Wednesday, shifting to the north then northwest Wednesday night into Thursday morning behind the storm center.
Our weather team will have the very latest on-air and online as this storm approaches. We'll be fine tuning the accumulation map over the next 24 hours, so be sure to stay tuned!