Snow expected for parts of Massachusetts coast early Wednesday morning

BOSTON – Tuesday starts a string of days with high temperatures generally in the 30s. Sounds pretty darn cold, but keep in mind the average highs in early December are only in the low to mid 40s.

Clouds will generally thicken later Tuesday and, we have some light snow in the forecast for the first time this season in parts of eastern Massachusetts.

This is not a major storm ... actually I wouldn't call it a storm at all. 

There will be something called an "inverted trough" (see black dashed line on the map) passing from north to south through our coastal communities on Wednesday.  

This really isn't much more than a bit of a wind shift, causing a small amount of lift in the atmosphere. This trough, in combination with a bit of an ocean-effect, should be just enough of a disturbance to create some light snow showers along the coastline.

Timing

Best chance of snow shower development comes between about 11 p.m. and midday Wednesday. Again, primarily focused in coastal areas ... North Shore and Cape Ann as well as Plymouth County.

How much snow?

These events are tough to forecast. 

Much like the lake-effect snow that occurs in western New York, this is a highly localized event. While one town may get an inch or two, the next town over may see nothing.  

Thankfully, there is not much moisture to work with so, any snow accumulation will be light and spotty.

Again, best chance of a coating to an inch or two will be over Cape Ann and coastal Plymouth County.

Across the rest of eastern Mass., there may be some flurries in the air at times but, no accumulation is expected, just some scattered coatings here and there.

Warm weekend ahead

The rest of the week is very quiet.

Temperatures will begin to moderate by Friday and, check out the weekend! 

Saturday will be a near perfect December day for the big Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium.

Storm next week?

Our next impactful storm arrives Sunday night into Monday. 

No snow with this one. Looks like a period of heavy rain and strong winds - an unfortunate way to start the work week.