9:57AM

DAYS 1-5 (DECEMBER 1-5)
And so this is December. Welcome to the 12th month of the calendar year, or the 1st month of Meteorological Winter. What will the first 5 days be like? Read on… The month begins with a tranquil day, light wind, not too cold but a seasonable chill in the air as a small area of high pressure starts overhead then slides away to the east. A broad low pressure area will be moving into the Great Lakes region and stretching out north of the region as its elongating center eventually redevelops across the Canadian Maritimes by Monday. The morphing of this system will send a warm front into the region tonight and Sunday with a period of rain except possibly starting as snow/sleet in interior northern MA and southern NH. But most of the upper level support for steadiest rain will be offshore by early afternoon Sunday, so the morning hours will be wettest. South of the surface boundary will be warmest during the day, and that boundary may hang in the region just north of the Mass Pike for a good portion of the midday and afternoon without making much more progress, so this makes the temperature forecast a little bit of a challenge for areas closest to the boundary. The boundary gets a northward kick Sunday evening when areas to the north may reach their warmest readings of the day and this mild air hangs around Monday before a trough line, remaining from the old stretched out low, and a cold front come southeastward across the region. This will return colder air to the region by Tuesday and Wednesday, a period of time we have been watching for a potential precipitation threat. Most reliable indicators show the bulk of this system passing too far south of the region for any significant impact, but there may be enough upper level energy coming across the region for snow showers Wednesday. At 5 days out this is not a super high confidence forecast but will add the chance in for now and tweak as needed.
Forecast details…
TODAY: Mostly to partly sunny. Highs 36-43. Wind light variable to SE.
TONIGHT: Becoming cloudy. Rain arriving west to east late night probably starting as sleet/snow with a possible coating interior northern MA through southern NH, and possible brief freezing rain higher elevations north central MA to southwestern NH. Lows 30-36. Wind light E.
SUNDAY: Overcast through early afternoon with rain and areas of fog, but rain tapering off early afternoon rapidly from west to east. Cloudy southern NH and northern MA with patchy drizzle and a chance of rain showers remainder of day while southern MA, eastern CT, and RI are mostly cloudy with a slight risk of rain showers. Highs 42-48 north, 48-55 south. Wind E shifting to N 5-15 MPH in northern areas, SE shifting to SW 10-20 MPH in southern areas.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Breaking clouds. Lows 35-42. Wind W 5-15 MPH, higher gusts.
MONDAY: Partly cloudy. Risk of a passing rain shower afternoon or evening. Highs 46-53. Wind W 10-20 MPH, higher gusts.
TUESDAY: Sun to clouds. Risk of brief very light snow at night. Temperatures fall to the 30s day and into the 20s night.
WEDNESDAY: Clouds to sun. Risk of snow showers. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the 30s.

DAYS 6-10 (DECEMBER 6-10)
Fair, cold December 6. Disturbance brings snow shower risk December 7. Watching for potential snow/mix threat late December 8 into December 9. Fair, cold December 10.

DAYS 11-15 (DECEMBER 11-15)
Overall pattern drier, but minor systems may bring brief precipitation. Temperatures near to below normal.