Snow or Rain?

The arctic air has arrived with temps now in the teens and wind chills down around 0. The temp will continue to drop throughout the day, bottoming out in the single digits tonight. Wind chill values may be as low as 20 below in some areas tomorrow morning. Then, a storm will come up the coast for New Years Eve. The exact track is still uncertain, and that will determine weather the Boston area gets rain or snow. As of right now, the track brings it right over the Cape Cod canal, meaning a transition to rain for most of the area after some snow on New Years Eve and Friday. A track further to the east would mean more snow because that means a north wind, and brings the cold air down from Maine. Then, the forecast becomes even more tricky. The storm will then stall just off the coast as it strengthens, bringing a major blizzard to northern New England. Some parts of northern New England may have over 3 feet of snow! However, a slight shift south would bring heavy snow to the Boston area on Saturday with significant amounts possible.


Local alerts: A Wind Advisory in effect for the entire area until 7 PM tonight.

A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect for Worcester county for wind chill values as low as 20 below.

Local forecast:

Today: Sunny with scattered snow showers. Very cold and windy. Temp dropping to 14 by 5PM. NW wind of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH. Wind chill values near 0 all day.

Tonight: Frigid and windy. Clear with lows near 9 downtown, 6 in JP and around 3 above elsewhere. Some locations may below 0 by morning. NW winds of 10-25 MPH with gusts to 40 MPH. Wind chills as low as 15 below in the Boston area, and 20 below in Worcester.

Wednesday: Sunny, but less windy. High 27. NW wind of 15-25 MPH. Wind chill values as low as 15 below before 9 AM>

Wednesday night: Becoming mostly cloudy with temps in the teens to near 20.

Thursday: Becoming cloudy with snow arriving from west to east. Highs near freezing.

New Years Eve: Snow continuing and becoming heavy at times, although a change to rain is likely along the coast after midnight. Near steady temps in the upper 20's to low 30's.

New Years Day: A nor'easter smacks the region with heavy preicp and strong winds. Highs in the 30's.

Saturday and Sunday: Some snow is likely, but it still uncertain how close the storm will be. Temps in the 20's along with a gusty wind. Stay tuned for details.