David Epstein breaks down the snow and springlike temps ahead
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The feeling of spring was in the air all Friday afternoon. As is typical here in New England when we have unusually mild air in winter, there will be a switch to cold and snow just ahead.
Colder air will filter into the region overnight Friday, and, by Saturday morning, temperatures will be in the teens and lower 20s, certainly cold enough for snow. Temperatures Saturday won’t reach beyond the lower 30s as the southern edge of Arctic air clips the region.
A storm system coming out of the south is going to pass off the coast Saturday night into early Sunday morning. The precipitation from the storm will move into the Greater Boston area late in the evening Saturday — somewhere in the 9 to 11 p.m. window — and continue until about sunrise Sunday.
This is not going to be a big snowstorm. My biggest concern is that we actually reach the 2 to 5 inches I’m predicting. I’ve also put in some isolated 6-inch amounts, which can always occur in these situations.
If the storm is a little weaker and moves a little bit faster than expected, amounts will stay on the lower end of the scale. Because this storm is coming at night, the snow will accumulate on the grassy surfaces, but, because it’s been so warm over the past several days, I think the roads might stay relatively wet rather than snowy.
You can see the snow move through very quickly Saturday night.
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The storm will quickly move out to sea Sunday, and behind it sunshine returns, along with mild temperatures. As a matter of fact, readings will be well into the 40s Sunday and slightly warmer Monday.
A flow of air from the south will continue Monday night into Tuesday and this is when temperatures could reach the 60-degree mark. The map below is for Wednesday afternoon next week. This model has readings over the interior approaching 70 degrees. That’s rather extreme for the third week of February but similar to the pattern we saw last year.
Seventy in February is highly unusual. A quick check at the Boston records shows just how rare it is.
