DAYS 1-5 (JANUARY 31 – FEBRUARY 4)
On this final day of January, we’ll enjoy bright sunshine with less wind than yesterday, but with last night’s clear sky and light wind along with fresh snowcover, the temperature dropped efficiently with many locations sitting a handful of degrees either side of zero. Your regional cold spot is Norwood at -13F and your “warm” spot is Provincetown where a combination of some wind and the milder ocean water kept the temperature at about 20F. This is a typical spread for a clear, light wind, snowcovered mid winter morning. Temperatures will become a little more uniform during the day today as we have light winds and abundant sunshine and while most areas fail to reach the freezing point it will be nicer feeling than yesterday’s colder temperatures, especially since we will also enjoy lighter wind. We’ll welcome February on Tuesday with a sun/cloud mix and slightly milder air as the high pressure area that sits over us now will move itself offshore. There will be a low pressure area to the south of New England that will be in the process of unraveling itself, and its leftover moisture may cause some rain shower activity for us on Wednesday as we’ll be immersed in much milder air by then on a southerly air flow with high pressure offshore. For our snowcover, expect a slow melt in sunniest areas today (south sides of buildings, etc.) but watch for a quick re-freeze of any meltwater tonight. This process repeats a little more zealously Tuesday and Tuesday evening. By Wednesday, the melting process will be accelerated but we will avoid flooding issue due to the lower water content snow and the lack of heavy rain. We stay mild into Thursday when we’ll have a cold front approaching. The timing of this boundary will help determine when our next widespread precipitation arrives, which will be in the form of rain. Right now I am leaning toward later in the day. As the front goes by, colder air will waste little time getting in and we may transition to a period of freezing rain and/or sleet, then snow to end as a low pressure wave comes along the front and passes just to our south. The amount of moisture falling with cold enough air will ultimately determine both our ice and snow impact, and it’s still a handful of days away so we’ll have time to fine tune this before its occurrence, but for now just plan on a slightly messy end to the work week.
TODAY: Sunny. Highs 25-32. Wind W up to 10 MPH.
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows 10-17 evening, rising overnight. Wind W up to 10 MPH shifting to S.
TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Highs 30-37. Wind S up to 5-15 MPH.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Temperatures steady 30-37 evening, rising slowly overnight. Wind S 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Highs 40-47. Wind S to SW 5-15 MPH.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Variably cloudy. Lows 35-42. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY: Partly sunny morning. Cloudy afternoon with rain arriving late, especially northwest of Boston. Highs 45-52. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with rain likely, may change to freezing rain and sleet especially north and west of Boston. Lows 28-35. Wind shifting to N 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with freezing rain and/or sleet mixing with or changing to snow before ending. Temperatures falling to 25-32. Wind N to NE 5-15 MPH.
DAYS 6-10 (FEBRUARY 5-9)
Cold/dry February 5-6 weekend. Watch for disturbance to bring snow/mix threat February 7. Cold/dry end to the period.
DAYS 11-15 (FEBRUARY 10-14)
Milder trend. Unsettled weather most likely mid period.