Tuesday Forecast

315 Comments

2:56AM

DAYS 1-5 (DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 2)…
Unsettled as expected today with a mix of precipitation, a break early Wednesday then a second wave of lighter precipitation coming as rain Wednesday night lingering into early Thursday to the southeast of Boston then a mainly dry remainder of New Year’s Eve. The first couple days of 2016 will feature fair and somewhat colder weather.
EARLY MORNING: Overcast with snow/sleet northwest of Boston, sleet/rain Boston and southern suburbs, rain to the southeast including Cape Cod, with accumulation of snow/sleet up to 2 inches I-495 belt north of the Mass Pike, up to 1 inch in the I-95 belt north of the Mass Pike, with trace amounts just to the south and east. Temperatures steady 25-30 interior southern NH to north central and interior northeastern MA, 30s elsewhere. Wind light NE in areas where precipitation is frozen and E 5-15 MPH elsewhere.
LATE MORNING: Overcast. Sleet/rain northern areas, rain elsewhere but pockets of freezing rain especially valley locations in interior northeastern to north central MA and southern NH. Temperatures in the 30s, coldest to the north and west of Boston. Wind E 5-15 MPH.
AFTERNOON: Cloudy. Rain becoming spotty. Highs 35-42. Wind E to NE 10-20 MPH, higher gusts Cape Cod.
TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Spotty light drizzle or freezing drizzle. Lows 28-35. Wind NE to N 10-20 MPH.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Highs 35-42. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
THURSDAY – NEW YEAR’S EVE: Mostly cloudy early with a chance of rain Cape Cod. Partly sunny midday and afternoon. Partly cloudy evening and night. Early morning lows 30-37. Daytime highs in the 40s. Evening to late night temperatures falling through the 30s.
FRIDAY – NEW YEAR’S DAY: Mostly sunny. Lows in the 20s. Highs around 40.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. Lows in the 20s. Highs in the 30s.

DAYS 6-10 (JANUARY 3-7)…
A few snow showers with a disturbance January 3. Fair and cold January 4-5, milder January 6-7.

DAYS 11-15 (JANUARY 8-12)…
Unsettled weather possibly early and again late in the period as the southern storm track becomes a little more active but probably keeps most of its energy south of southern New England while air mass changes are driven by the northern jet stream making for variable but mostly near normal temperatures.

315 thoughts on “Tuesday Forecast”

  1. TK, good morning and thank you!

    Well here in Newton, the ground is coated in white and it is snowing AND I think sort of sleeting at the same time. As forecasted a very, very messy day.

  2. Thank you tk.
    Was sleeting here at 3AM.
    Did someone say a surge of warmth
    At 700 mb????
    Everything is white.
    Went out to move car at 3. Looked lik1/4 to 1/2 inch of snow prior to the sleet.

  3. Thanks TK
    Never saw snow here. Been sleeting since about 11:30 pm. That sleet is covering the parts of the lawn along with the driveway.

  4. I stooped hearing sleet on the window.
    Got up and looked out. Snowing pretty
    Good right now.
    Hmmm. Intensity cooled 700mb layer?
    Or some sort of eddy in the 700mb flow??

    Mystern to me as it was clearly sleeting earlier. I was out and could fell ir, hear it .
    and see it. Clearly snowing now with small flakes.

  5. Well after staring out the window towards the street light, I guess it is sleet. Just very small pellets so as not to ping on window.
    I can see it bouncing off the tree limbs.
    Still 1/2 asleep so missed that. My bad.
    Didn’t want to be a piss-poor observer.

    1. Sorry just looking again. Visibility too low for sleet. I saw SNOW FLAKES.
      There may be sleet mixed in, but there are snow flakes too.

  6. Why most of the 4Am NWS observations reporting precipitation of
    UNKNOWN????

    At 4AM Logan reporting light SNOW. Wind EAST gusting to 28. Temp still 31.
    Amazing it hasn’t gone higher already.
    It’s howling out there.

  7. Coming home from work last night that wind was gusting. Thankfully I made it in just before this sleetorama got under way.

  8. According to the charts it should flip to all sleet within 1/2 to an hour and then
    stay sleet until 10AM to Noon. Somewhere in that range. We shall see.

    Sure looks like Winter out there!!!!

  9. Here is the latest HRRR snow map. Now this goes strictly on 10:1 ration as long a frozen
    precipitation is falling. Which means .8 to 1.0 qpf of Frozen according to this model.
    Let’s say 1 inch is snow, that leaves approximately .7 to .9 in sleet. Sleet is generally what 2:1 tops (I researched it and got 2:1 as the answer). So that would be at least an inch of sleet perhaps 2 inches of sleet. That is a real SLEET-O-RAMA!!!!!!!!

    http://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov/HRRR/for_web/hrrr_ncep_jet/2015122907/t3/acsnw_t3sfc_f15.png

  10. What a difference from a few days ago with those record high temps. Once we get through this looks a boring weather pattern will last for several days.

  13. At 2:30 all was covered, including road, with sleet/snow mix. Still sleet/ice. Be safe.

    I think we have had four seasons in as many days. Gotta love New England.

  14. About to head out to clean car off and trek on over to the airport then
    into the office. Will report from the Office, I suspect somewhere around 7ish to perhaps
    7:30ish if all goes well.

    Taking a long look out at the street light (my snow lamp), there is still SNOW falling, albeit mixed with some sleet.

    Very Wintry look out there to say the least. 😀 😆 😆 😀

  15. Sitting in car waiting for soncleaned 3/4 inch of high density low rato sleet/snow
    Combo.
    Moderate sleet with snow right now.
    Coming down good.

  19. The sleet rain line is from hingham to Brockton to North Attleboro, Logan is 35 and raining from reports I’ve seen.

  21. Good morning. From the sound of what was hitting the window, it was sleet pretty much all night here in Wrentham, and continues to be so. Thick coating on the ground. Looks like a pretty good snow event going on for northern MA/southern NH. Warm ocean didn’t seem to be much of a factor, but the 700mb warm push was unstoppable. I think the HRRR actually performed pretty well. You absolutely cannot rely on model snow maps in situations like this. Or really in any situations. I don’t consider snow maps to be model output. It’s up to the meteorologist to decide how much snow a given model output will produce. GFS clearly a major failure. Just about everything else did well also though.

    And of course, TK spot on as usual 🙂

  22. It’s officially a plain rain here in north Attleboro, truck says 34 degrees, roads are just wet and I’m sure have been salted. About a half inch is on ground from foxboro to Norton to Attleboro.

    These are perfect type snow events for me, let the rain just wash it all away now. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    1. FYI, it will take much longer for rain to wash away an accumulation of sleet.
      It will still do it of course, but it will take longer.

  23. Goor Morning.

    Back at the office and already made coffee. Would have been here much sooner, save for a crap load of traffic at the airport where it was 33 and still SLEETING. Here at the office 33 and SLEETING. about 1 inch on the ground. PLOWS are out. Our parking lot
    had been plowed. Streets in JP were being plowed.

    Jamaica Way was a MESS! All covered. NO bare streets until Storrow Drive.

    I still see an occasional flake in the air, but it is primarily sleet.

    Regarding model snow output. When I first posted an HRRR map yesterday I explained about which part was snow and which was sleet etc. I did NOT do so
    with each map, just the first one. I also explained that again this morning with
    the HRRR map.

    So the SLEET-O-RAMA is on.

    Now that it is sleeting, I am hoping someone can explain something to me.

    Sleet is essentially a frozen rain drop. It is mostly clear (A tad opaque due to the freezing process). Yet when it accumulates on the ground it looks white just like snow. WHY???????

  24. Surprised by how much snow was on the car vs the ground (2 inch va half inch). Odd thing…my property like everyone else’s on the street is covered enough that you can’t see the grass or sidewalks…but the large open grass field abutting my yard is almost snow free. How does that happen???

    1. Interesting. The only thing I can think of is that your grass was probably maintained and therefore cut fairly short allowing it to be covered, while the open field had longer grass and thus an appearance of it not being covered.

      Other than that, haven’t a thought or clue. 😀

      1. Not a bad theory. It has some snow but it’s mostly bare spots. It’s part of a farm field but you are correct that it’s not mowed.

        1. How was the wind out there? It was pretty strong near the coast and where it was a tad colder out there and an open field, could there have been some blowing causing bare spots?

  26. JP Dave .. I was largely sleet here after a snow/sleet mix to start but did have a brief burst of snow about dawn. Had to be some kind of cooling just deep enough near the snow growth area to counteract the warming that had taken place there.

    Lightened up and back to just sleet snow.

    I’m going to be mobile for a while so my check-ins will be limited for several hours.

  27. Dr. Choen’s Blog was updated yesterday.
    He seems to have backed off just a tad.

    Here is a link:

    http://www.aer.com/science-research/climate-weather/arctic-oscillation

    Some excerpts:

    Similarly the models predict that deep low pressure/geopotential heights will deepen near the Aleutians. This will initiate geopotential heights to rise over northwestern North America. Rising geopotential heights over western North America will allow geopotential heights to fall over eastern North America and the filtering of cold air, currently over western North America into the Eastern United States.

    We continue to anticipate that the polar vortex has already been and will continue to be sufficiently perturbed/weakened to allow colder weather to spread over the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. Furthermore the strong wave-two atmospheric circulation configuration predicted by the weather models, favors an eventual polar vortex split.

    Therefore longer term, we anticipate the strong advection (transport) of heat into the Arctic will result in further weakening of the polar vortex that will likely have important implications for the atmospheric circulation for much of the remaining winter.

    Therefore because the northern or polar Jet Stream does not completely dominate eastern North America, temperatures remain near seasonable over southeastern Canada and the Eastern United States (Figure 6). However with both jet streams active over the United States, the storm track will likely remain active and potential phasing of the two streams may help to fuel storms crisscrossing the United States and could potentially be a snowy pattern for parts of the United States.

    Therefore, based on the polar vortex model and the upcoming atmospheric circulation pattern, we are anticipating more upward pulses of WAFz and perturbing of the polar vortex. If the predicted atmospheric circulation pattern is correct and our expectations of more upward pulses of WAFz is correct, this should be sufficient to force a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) beginning sometime in mid-January. And if our expectations of a weakened polar vortex verify, this will likely favor an increased likelihood of severe winter weather across the continents of the Northern Hemisphere.

  28. The street lights are now off, so it is very difficult to tell what it is doing out there.
    The best I can tell from observation and visibility is that it is still Sleeting, but
    I can’t be certain until it gets lighter or I go outside. 😀

  29. Latest on Boston Threat:

    I can tell you I have NEVER seen such a Police Presence at the Airport, NEVER.
    So I’m not so sure they think it is not credible.

    Boston police said Monday that they are questioning the credibility of a threat made to the New York Police Department about Boston, but that they are continuing to monitor the situation as a precaution.

    According to police, the department received information Monday morning from police in New York about an anonymous phone call that was placed to the NYPD’s 911 system.

    Boston police said in a statement on their website that the call made reference “to threats to Boston,” but lacked specificity.

    After investigating the incident with the help of the FBI, officials deemed the threat unlikely.

    “While the BPD continues to monitor this situation, at this time there remains no credible information regarding any threat to the Boston area,” police said in a statement Monday.

    Police will continue to remain vigilant during their regular patrols, and maintain a strong presence with “increased resources” at large gatherings and venues, according to the statement on the department’s website.

  33. Nice to finally see some winter weather around here…..just at 3 inches here in the NE part of MA with snow and sleet mixing in right now….temp is at 31.2

    1. Thanks for the pic 🙂 most reports I’ve seen in Boston range from a thick coating up to 1 inch 🙂

    1. Everywhere I’ve been accumulation ranges from very little in seekonk to 3/4 inch in Norwood, 3/4 inch in Dedham 🙂

  36. I had to go down to the lobby to pick up a package and went outside.
    Still SLEETING here in Roxbury and pretty good at that. 😀

  37. How can amounts be accurate? It has been moderate to heavy sleet here for at least eight hours. Everything is packed tight because of its weight. Were it snow at this rate, I’d think the accumulation would be a good deal more

    1. For sure. Sleet generally has a ratio of “about” 2:1 give or take depending
      on pellet size and the amount of air in between pellets.

      1 inch of water = 2 inches of sleet, but about 10 inches of snow. 😀

      Back in the 60s during high school, we had a Sleet Fest where 2-3 inches
      of sleet fell! It was a loaded system.

      Was that stuff ever heavy to move around!!!

  38. I just took a look at webcams around I-95 surrounding Boston, all roads are wet and traffic is moving smoothly. Not sure how it looked 1-2 hours ago but this could be WAY worse if forecasts yesterday verified.
    Rain began to mix in at KBOS as early as 6AM, but changeover was not quick and clean. Still reporting a few sleet pellets mixing in, above freezing layer is quite shallow.

    link to webcams
    http://www1.eot.state.ma.us/bostwebcammap.aspx

    1. When I was at the airport about 6:30 AM it was still SOLID SLEET I can
      assure you. Don’t know after I left. I am about 2 miles from the airport here
      at the office and it is still solid sleet. 😀

    3. Son said driving from framingham to Boston at 4:45 am was messy. He underplays everything. It was solid sleet as late as 6:00 in Boston. No idea what it is now.

      Side roads around here are solid ice cover. Main roads between here and Wellesley are slick.

    4. Roads are just wet here also, traffic is moving fine, some back less traveled roads have a little slush. It’s moderately raining now, so things are improving rapidly. 🙂

  39. Light freezing rain outside my window now. No longer sleeting. Thankfully when the precipitation was coming down at a good clip earlier it was sleet and not freezing rain which would not have been a good situation as freezing rain is the worst of all wintry type of precipitation we get.

  40. Just saw a tweet from Eric Fisher 0.7 inches at Logan. That is more snow than last December when 0.3 fell. Boston is behind last year’s total at this time by 4.8 inches when they had 5.5 inches at this point.

    1. An example of why people in those areas should report. May change soon but rain snow line has framingham well into the rain area and we are still sleeting.

      1. That display is not always accurate AND I still don’t know how
        that is done? Algorithm built into the radar display OR
        based on surface reports which are then translated to the display.
        I have NEVER received an answer from anyone on this.

        1. Sometimes those snow rain lines can be way way off, not the case with this line, like I said it was fairly accurate this time around. 🙂

  44. 850 mb temps progged by HRRR to be below freezing until about 11AM.
    925 mb temps below freezing until 2PM.

    Don’t know if the 925 mb temps would still support sleet. Close I would say.

    So sleet in Boston Should go on until sometime between 10 and Noon or thereabouts.

    Quite a SLEET SHOW!!!

    1. OR NOT!! If the HRRR was too slow with the warm layer advancement.

      I “think” it just changed to rain here. It was sleeting a few minutes ago, but
      I don’t hear it or see it bouncing off the window now. I’ll have to confirm outside.

      Figures, I just post that it will last longer and POOF it’s gone. 😆 😆

  46. +3F yesterday at Logan …..

    18F in Portland, ME ….. low 20s in central NH ….. Will the surface winds back a bit later today for a temperature drop ?

    Slight coating even on mid Cape overnight, rain now.

      1. .7 sleet. Not snow.

        However, there is also an icing issue when rain hits plane even if sleet not coming down.

          1. Why do you put a smile after every comment? And the metal/material on the plane will warm faster. I do not think I have more knowledge than the airlines. You?

    2. They told my son that planes can’t take off in SLEET, but the sleet is over.
      United says severe weather over the route. BullCrap I say!!!!

      1. United Flight 207
        Status: Canceled due to severe weather conditions in our route network
        DEPARTS
        ARRIVES
        City: Boston, MA, US (BOS)
        Gate: B24
        Check-in Terminal:
        Scheduled Time: 8:00 a.m.
        Scheduled Date: Tue., Dec. 29, 2015
        Estimated Time: Canceled
        Estimated Date:

          1. I don’t get it. It would be rain until they passed
            the 700MB level or “about” 10,000 feet. After that just ordinary snow until they got above it.

            Sounds like a lousy excuse to me!!!

            This was a vacation for my son. It sucks!
            He’s working on the options.

              1. I think it is not weather related, but rather they took the opportunity to blame the weather. Who knows what the real problem is/was. Just my feeling, jaded as I am.

                I checked other airlines flying to the same place. They certainly delayed the flights, but they are flying.

  49. Certainly RAINING here as I just had a chance to check outside.
    Must have changed just about when I reported it around 9AM.

  51. JP Dave, I’m with you on your son’s flight cancellation. Though it is better to be safe than sorry, there is no justification for canceling a flight in this weather. Delay, yes. Cancellation, no. There is nothing severe about this weather. Not in terms of wind, temperature, precipitation, visibility, thunder or lightning chances/strikes. I’ve flown many times in sleet – having done the cheap Icelandair route to Europe; sleet is very, very common in Keflavik/Reykjavik as warmer air aloft encounters colder air at or near surface. Sleet is also fairly common in Holland and England. Granted, it’s more common there than here. But, pilots can deal with it, and the planes are equipped to handle it. My fear at Logan is not weather-related. It is the possibility of crashing into another plane upon landing or take-off. The number of near-misses is troubling.

    1. I checked other airlines flying to San Francisco this morning. They were
      delayed to be sure, but they departed.

      1. Yes, and severe weather en route should not be an issue. [Exception: Ashes from a volcano can be a problem]. Unless SF is experiencing a a major storm which would impact landings, severe weather en route is something that pilots know how to deal with: Adjust plane altitude, and if that’s not working alter route. Both options can make the flights a little longer, but that’s better than cancellation for all parties involved.

        1. That’s exactly why I think it is something else.
          Scheduled pilot took sick and no other available
          OR
          Some problem with the flight crew
          OR
          some sort of mechanical issue (took advantage of
          the weather instead of announcing a mechanical issue)
          OR some other happy horseshit.

      2. Yes, it will count. I am certain Logan had measurable snow. Less than downtown Boston, probably. But, enough to allow the January 2000 record to continue to stand. That record will be very hard to break, by the way. Consider how darn warm it’s been this month, and we still get some accumulating snow.

          1. I didn’t, but I will.

            I was wrong yesterday when I predicted the coast would basically get zilch. Clearly, the coast got snow.

  53. My forecast was not good. Boston got more snow than I expected. Certainly more than 1 inch in Back Bay. Plows have been doing some of the side roads and walkways. Roads are not in good shape, at least when I was commuting into work. Also, temperature did not rise as I expected it would. Just imagine if this was a classic set-up for a nor’easter. We would have had a nice snowstorm in spite of the relatively warm ocean water.

    As I was traversing the Public Garden, I remembered my walk in the park on Christmas Day. Man, what a difference. Looked like full-blown spring 3 days ago, with blossoms, birds singing, kids playing ball in the park. Today, ice on the pond – thin layer, but still – snow and sleet covering the grass.

  54. If it an inch, how do we decide who guessed closest…do we use days past or count to day Future? Or just closet date no matter which direction. I haven’t looked to see if anyone has today

  55. Son just texted. United what a piss-poor excuse for an airline.

    He’s waiting in line to make arrangements to reach his destination.
    He says 300 people in line, 1 clerk to handle it.

    What a way to run an airline!@(#&()!@&#*(&!*(@#&*(!&@#**(&

  56. Thanks, TK.

    We got about 1-1/2 inches of snow and some sleet on the ground in Sudbury – I don’t know how much. But I saw it snowing w/possible sleet mixed in (I could hear some sleet) around 1 a.m or so.

    1. I’ll second that. I haven’t been out here that much or on FB the past couple of months (work and home have been crazy). Hadi take care and hope to see you again on FB, etc.

  58. Curious to know where we stand in the water deficit department. My hunch is we haven’t made a lot of progress. Nevertheless, I see some rise in the levels of rivers in recent weeks, and the grass is quite green (also because it’s been so mild).

    1. Around -10 inches in Boston for the year. Water levels in lakes etc are the lowest I have seen seen in a long time. Was just taking photos the other day of the very low reservoir in the Middlesex Fells.

  59. With precip, the intention is to record all liquid and melted frozen as total, but note the amount of frozen by itself as well. Frozen includes anything not liquid: snow, sleet, hail, graupel. Somehow over the years the term “frozen” was incorrectly morphed to “snow”, hence the common confusion.

  60. Still snowing in Portsmouth here at work. About 5 or so inches of snow with a heavy sleet base in the middle where it switched to sleet between 7-9 am and then back to all snow.

  61. My son got royally screwed because of that cancelation. earliest re-book is Jan 1st.
    He’s trying to get his money back.

    Untied Turd Blinds!

    1. I’m talking to sister in law. She asked what kind of ticket. Full fare? Standby? Nonstop? Points? Refund.

      Can he fly Boston Houston to SF? They have big hub in Dulles also

      Hadi is would know this well I think.

      1. She did say try to avoid chicago

        United was cancelling Jacksonville to Dallas yesterday

        Also bush international in Houston if he can get there

    2. Sorry to hear that, maybe United did pay someone, flying out of Logan is like going to the dmv, I try to fly in airports surrounding. I wish him luck

      1. Airlines were cancelling in many areas yesterday, Charlie. My sister in law said Logan is one of easiest airports and I’ll take her 47 years of flying both international and intercontinental.

  64. with the talk of the drought situation, the Marshland which is usually under 3 to 5 feet of water is around 1 foot or so with the shawsheen river in my area only around 4 feet. We need the snow/rain or we are going to be very dry come spring time. We have been seeing enough storm systems but many of them do not give enough

  65. Tom, I’m in Portsmouth and yes the wind came around rather quickly from the north and the snow went from being pasty to powdery within a few minutes. Blowing around pretty good now. Temp plummeted rapidly for sure

  66. Tom, I’m in Portsmouth and yes the wind came around rather quickly from the north and the snow went from being pasty to powdery within a few minutes. Blowing around pretty good now. Temp plummeted rapidly for sure

  68. I hope this tweet pans out that Ed Vallee posted. Ed Vallee is an energy meteorologist.
    As a winter weather fan, I am pumped for what the middle and end of January will have to offer. Some nice potential!

    1. Interesting to say the least. Is he the one and the same that said watch
      out for the 700mb torch with this event?

  70. Looks like we got quite a wait until the next snow event, thinking mid Januaryish 🙂

    Could come close to 50 Thursday!!!!!!

    1. at least its cold enough to make snow after a few hours of rain/freezing rain Wednesday night. weekend looks like its in the low 30s. 😀

    2. All I Know is that ski areas will finally start to look more normal, man made snow is not as good as natural snow but its at least something to start. Temperatures look to be in the 30s for the the most part in the foreseeable future. With a few opportunities of wintery precip. Southern stream and northern stream seem to want to stay separated but a few fast moving clippers coming in from the lakes can’t be ruled out ;).

  74. Ed Vallee is a good man, he graduated Lyndon State College 2 years ago, I have a year and a half left. He may be responsible for getting me an internship at Accuweather this summer which is where he works now.

  75. Up to 36 here. Rain light to moderate. Delivery person just said driving is a but challenging. Maine roads are ok. Side roads are nasty. But I haven’t seen a plow so perhaps they are not plowing side roads

    1. I was afraid, if slush was not cleared and temps drop, it would be a mess.

      This is the type of scenario where I cannot decide about driveway. If clear and rain freezes, it is a skating rink. If slush left, it seems to give better traction.

  80. Sloppy mess in Natick. My street is not plowed and pretty bad otherwise driving is fine. Debating whether to shovel the glop off the driveway or to let Mother Nature take car of it before it gets cold this weekend.

    2. I’m not going to do anything, the rain has already washed much of it away, and I believe here it will stay above freezing overnight, not by much, thinking 33-34 for a low. 🙂

  81. Freezing Rain Advisory

    URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
    NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
    106 PM EST TUE DEC 29 2015

    MAZ017>019-RIZ002>004-300215-
    /O.NEW.KBOX.ZR.Y.0006.151229T2200Z-151230T0500Z/
    NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-
    SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-WESTERN KENT RI-EASTERN KENT RI-
    INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…TAUNTON…BROCKTON…PLYMOUTH…
    PROVIDENCE…WEST GREENWICH…WARWICK
    106 PM EST TUE DEC 29 2015

    …FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
    MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT…

    THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A FREEZING
    RAIN ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
    MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT.

    * LOCATIONS…INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…TAUNTON…BROCKTON…PLYMOUTH…
    PROVIDENCE…WEST GREENWICH AND WARWICK.

    * HAZARD TYPES…FREEZING DRIZZLE.

    * ACCUMULATIONS…ICE ACCRETION RANGING FROM A TRACE UP TO A TENTH
    OF AN INCH POSSIBLE.

    * TIMING…FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BEGIN BETWEEN 5 PM AND 8
    PM…THEN CONTINUING THROUGH THE EVENING. THIS ADVISORY MAY HAVE
    TO BE EXTENDED INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

    * IMPACTS…SLIPPERY TRAVEL ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES…OVERPASSES AND
    ANY OTHER ELEVATED PLATFORMS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE
    DRIVING.

    * TEMPERATURES…FALLING INTO THE LOWER 30S.

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN OR
    FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
    SLIPPERY ROADS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

    1. Thanks coastal. Looks as if it is more for down Charlie’s way. Son drafted for extra shift so won’t leave Boston till 11:00. Very glad you sent along info

      Merry Christmas, Coastal and wishes for a wonderful new year

  83. Cleared a half inch or so of slush off the driveway… May not have needed to, but I’ve always liked shoveling anyways… Free exercise 🙂

    1. I always did as well. Just felt good. After I hurt my shoulder, it just irritates it but I still shovel lighter stuff. Not this as it is waterlogged.

      Before we got a new snow blower about 7 years ago, we used the one my younger brother bought when he was 16 so it was 40 yrs old. It was a standing neighborhood joke that I’d have the driveway done before Mac got the snowblower started ….but start it always did 🙂

      1. Ha, that’s crazy, well built snowblower! My dad bought a new one a few years back, replaced an old one that had pretty much died. Much as I enjoy the shoveling that’s a whole lot easier to use.

  84. From Matt Noyes on FB. Posted 43 minutes ago

    Flash freeze has hit the Merrimack Valley much sooner than anticipated. I know because I was just in it. Northbound on interstate 93, went from 36° in Tewksbury to 28° in Andover. Accidents began immediately thereafter. Route 495 was still covered in some slush… That has frozen solid with temperatures plummeting through the 20s. By the north side of Andover, temperature was down to 23. 21 in Methuen. Windshield Iced up including wipers. I bailed off of 495 as I approached my hometown of Haverhill with nothing but brake lights in front of me. This should be a warning to cities farther south on the north end of interstate 93/95 in MetroWest to be ready for freeze conditions sooner. At the junction of interstate 93 and 495, I watched someone slide off the highway traveling at 30 to 35 mph! My house in Haverhill is now down to a remarkable 19°.

    2. Wow ….. Lawrence plunged to 23F on its ob.

      Just the heaviness of that cold air is going to keep it pushing southward. …

      And it’s still misting in Plymouth, as we make our way northbound.

      Bad afternoon commute coming, hopefully word gets out to towns and they can pre-treat roads.

  87. Just got back. I see winds have BACKED to NE at Logan. So it begins.
    Still drizzling out. I suspect we’ll see that temperature drop here as well.
    Wonder why Boston is not in the advisory? Will it sleet here? Or no precip here with
    the temperature drop?

    Btw, Nice job Tom. You called this!!!

    1. Thanks, but I wish it weren’t working out. Nothing worse than a flash freeze. I think the new advisory extends nearly to the Cape Cod Bridges.

    1. URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
      NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
      106 PM EST TUE DEC 29 2015

      MAZ007-014-015-300215-
      /O.NEW.KBOX.ZR.Y.0006.151229T1900Z-151230T0500Z/
      EASTERN ESSEX MA-SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-SUFFOLK MA-
      INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…GLOUCESTER…CAMBRIDGE…BOSTON
      106 PM EST TUE DEC 29 2015

      …FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT…

      THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A FREEZING
      RAIN ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT.

      * LOCATIONS…INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…GLOUCESTER…CAMBRIDGE AND
      BOSTON.

      * HAZARD TYPES…FREEZING DRIZZLE.

      * ACCUMULATIONS…A TRACE TO A TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE.

      * TIMING…FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BEGIN BETWEEN 2 PM AND 4
      PM…THEN CONTINUING INTO THIS EVENING. THIS ADVISORY MAY HAVE
      TO BE EXTENDED INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

      * IMPACTS…SLIPPERY TRAVEL ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES…OVERPASSES AND
      ANY OTHER ELEVATED PLATFORMS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE
      DRIVING.

      * TEMPERATURES…FALLING TO 25 TO 30.

      PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

      A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN OR
      FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
      SLIPPERY ROADS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

      1. I wonder if any of this will be snizzle or frozen drizzle. If it drops
        to 25, I should say that is possible.

  90. WHW folks, be extra careful out there later this afternoon and evening. Black ice, freezing rain, and all the glop will be treacherous to say the least. I find this kind of kitchen sink precipitation and the freezing over of roads and especially walkways to be more dangerous than traveling in snow. I realize snow isn’t dry, but it’s easier to navigate by foot and even by car as long as it’s not heavy accumulation.

    Northern NE – right up along the border – and southern Quebec are the jackpot areas for this storm. Up to 20 inches of snow in some locales. Very heavy snow reported on and off in Trois-Rivieres today. Border towns like Jackman are getting hit hard. Further east and northeast towns like Presque Isle and Caribou will get some, too, to add to an already impressive total this year. In years that we don’t make out so well in terms of snow (think, 2011-2012), far north and northeast Maine really gets walloped, El Nino notwithstanding (or perhaps a bit because of El Nino and the concomitant jet stream positioning).

      1. Don’t fret too much. That’s just one GFS model run called the operational, and I believe it’s a bit extreme compared to many of its brothers and sisters today. The ensembles paint a more realistic picture. Confluent flow in the east, cold and dry but maybe a threat around January 8 & 13. We’ll see…

  93. I just drove from Quincy where there is about a quarter of an inch of snow sleet left to north Attleboro where essentially there is nothing left after the rain washed it away. The line is around foxboro Sharon. Anywhere south of there, there nothing, anyone north has a 1/4 to 1/2 of snow/sleet left. 🙂

  94. The tiny meso low did in the temp forecast. The precip/snow/sleet was generally as expected. The extremely low level cold is further south than expected.

  95. Temp drop just hit us in Wrentham, we hit a high of 38 but now 34 and tumbling. Be very careful driving!

  96. Down to 34 at Logan.
    At least for me, too much emphasis on the initial frozen Precip, rather than the back end of the storm.
    The pattern is changing folks.

    1. This reminds me of another Winter, some time ago when Todd Gross
      was still at channel 7. It was a very Warm December. Then we had a storm
      system not unlike this, with a sudden flash freeze at the backend. It was
      New Year’s Day. Winter commenced that Day!!! Not saying Winter commences
      today, just that this reminds me of that Winter. 😀

      1. Putting down snow across Northern New England is going to help us get into a more typical winter pattern, along with big time upstream changes.

      2. In terms of temperature, that may be true this time around too. I think we have seen 50 degrees for the last time until at least March.

  97. Just headed to store in Andover, roads are terrible, temp in mid 20s, car covered in ice, after cleanup this morning, driveway frozen. About 2 inches of wet snow / sleet, like cement. Definitely more of a challenge than I expected!

    Tom

  98. I would take 2ft of snow over this crap any day. Just came in from shoveling 1.5″ of slop. Did someone say this would just get washed away? 😛

      1. I’m glad I live here and not there, all I say is drive from your area down 95 and you will see, it’s wonderful living south and at 127ft above sea level. 🙂

  101. Decided to shovel…and glad I did. Temp drop came through (Natick) while I was out there…also got the kids (ages 4 and 6) out of the house to “help”.

  102. I get the feeling for the rest of the winter, when we do get precip events they will end up much like this one

    2. I have had that feeling for a bit. Based on nothing but a feeling. Clearly, I’m hooked on a feeling…..sorry. Got a tad carried away there 😉

  103. I put down ice melt on my sidewalk and front steps. I never thought I would have to use any snow/ice removal this month. Shoveling was quite difficult compared to last year’s fluff.

    1. My daughter used something last year on our front stoop. A mixture she found online. Once she put it on, it didn’t refreeze. I’ll have to ask her what that was.

          1. Yep,that was it. I knew the first two also but couldn’t remember hot water

            One tsp dawn, tablespoon rubbing alcohol and 1/2 gallon hot water

    1. Sister in law was 100% behind cancelling. She said what I thought ….even if rain on ground when borderline temps, plan can ice up as it takes off and ascends. She was horrified that United had only one person helping 300 people reschedule. United is union. Delta is not. She wondered if there is a union limitation to personnel.

    2. 4,000 were cancelled alone out of Logan 😉

      Had a couple family members contact me asking if we were ok? I lol’ and said its Boston, we got under an inch, I told her it’s changed over the last 25 yrs, and that the schools would have cancelled today like there, and said it reminded me of a sleet storm Dallas received back in late jan 99, it was a freak show. 🙂

  106. The T had issues yet again today. One of these times the decimal point on the snowfall total is going to move to the “right”. 😉

      1. Yes, the Red Line but power failed on the Green Line and shuttle buses were used and service is currently suspended on the Blue Line. Yeah things are resolved all right. 😉

  107. I am glad that I didn’t have to work today since I use the T. I take the Green Line so I definitely would have been affected. If the T can’t handle 1″ what happens at 10″…20″…30″?

  108. I concur with Vicki. Ice accretion could have certainly accumulated rapidly as the plane ascended/descended. Its not all about what is happening at 2m. Very dangerous indeed.

  109. Folks, it was 36 degrees when they cancelled jp daves sons flight, nothing would have frozen, it was raining!! Stop sticking up for the airport or weather. It’s ok! It’s Logan! We all know it’s a shit show airport that is much to small, and probably well under manned. Yes I agree safety is 1st. I tend to agree that with Dave that the weather had absolutely nothing to do with it, it was something else they were hiding. Who knows. Let’s just be realistic about this 🙂

    1. You’re missing some major points here… Unless the plane’s entire trip was taxiing from one terminal to another without ever taking off.

      And you still take every opportunity you can to tell people what to do and to trash anything you can having to do with Boston. You have not changed one bit. Don’t try to tell me or anyone else that you have.

      And “stop sticking up for the airport or weather”. At least the part about the airport makes sense, but sticking up for the weather? Did someone hurt the rain’s feelings by trying to call it freezing rain?

      2. Try using facts to form the opinion rather than bias. Do you truly think you know more than the experts? Ohhh woops, silly question… Of course you do.

  114. It’s just my opinion, not try to stir the pot, I’ve always thought Logan was a bad airport, and any bad weather causes dramatic back ups 🙂

    1. Logan is known for being one of the airports that remains open during many of the snow events through the years. Individual air lines will often cancel flights but the entire airport remains open quite often during Winter weather events. So you are incorrect.

        1. Fact…and why do you put a smiley face after comments as if you know more than others.

          Hint….I know why. Just hoping you know that others do also

      2. I can’t believe some of the snow storms during which Logan
        remained open. Often the planes fly overhead. My wife and I
        often commented during heavy snow as planes flew overhead.

        They have a great snow removal crew and keep those runways open for as long as is physically possible.

  115. My son could not get a flight anywhere. He got his money back and had to come home.
    He tried for 8 hours. Best he could do was get wait listed for a much later flight and be
    #57 in line. yeah that will work.

    1. Sorry about that JPD. I’ll let my SIL know. She has called a couple of times to see how he made out. She is not working. She opts to fly Christmas as she doesn’t have children and others do do takes New Years off. However, she always has her ear to the ground re flights, etc. As the day went on and she realized flights were being cancelled everywhere, coupled with a busy travel week, she was afraid your son might not have an alternative

      1. Thank you. Appreciated it.

        He took it very very well. I would have blown a head gasket and the men in white coats would be coming after me.

  116. I had to shovel out when I got home. Made it just in time as it was freezing up
    rapidly. Not much at all coming down now.

    2. Son in law traveling from unbridge to Ashland at 5:00 am said driving was horrendous. No trucks out. First in Ashland on very Main Street was 7:00 am. Glad they were out around you. We didn’t see one until 3:00 pm

  118. Now that I hear a bunch of other flights were canceled and I have calmed down a bit,
    perhaps my son’s flight was weather related. I still think not, but it’s possible.

    Last my son was told was that they would be boarding in 1/2 hour. Next he knew
    he got texted from me that the flight was canceled. Then he was texted by Expedia. but Nothing from the airlione. PUKENITED never told any of
    the passengers that the flight was canceled. Hey, it may have been beyond their control and I can understand that, but they handled it piss-poorly. I’d rather walk than fly Shitnited!!!

  119. We need to go out tonight. My dead end street is atrocious, but I checked the
    street with which it connects and it was fine. I believe if we stick to main roads, we’ll be fine. Not much is falling.

      1. Thanks. Should be OK. IF I see it is worse than I think, we’ll turn
        around and go home. Something we have to get done.

  120. 2nd game in a home & home series with the Senators. Bruins look a little better tonight so far but we have a tie game at 1 late in the 1st.

    I’m going to the game on 2-2-Tuesday (Groundhog Day). 🙂

  121. What is your current location Charlie? I’m thinking your forecast low of 33 or 34 may be in jeopardy. 😉

    1. I know I’m not TK but mid 40s for Thursday. Thereafter, temps take a gradual decline into the weekend and then a nose dive early next week. May not make it out of the 20s for daytime highs 😀

    2. Echoing a’s comment. 50 not happening Thursday. And though I don’t think we’re about to start getting pounded with snowstorms, we are about to turn a whole lot colder than we’ve been. The air mass that set up this little mess was a preview.

  124. Dave, sorry to hear that your son wasn’t able to fly out of Boston, today.
    My sister just got to NY, heading back home to Ft. Meyers. Original flight was at 7:30am. The only way my niece was able to get in this morning from MD was by changing arriving airport from Logan to Manchester, NH.

  125. I just took a peak at this morning’s sounding from CHH, above freezing marine layer was very shallow, reason why there was sleet reported at KBOS until 9am.
    Another aspect is that a very deep saturated layer existed which contained supercooled liquid water, which will freeze on contact with a plane’s exterior. This is why aviation weather is a whole different sector. Most of the weather information the public receives is with respect to the surface, not a couple thousand feet up.

    2. Excellent Scott. Thank you.

      I have to say that WHW is blessed to have amazing young folks as part of its family.

    3. Thank you for that. But why other flights depsrted???
      If that was the concern they all should have been grounded.

      1. Why do you categorize others if they don’t share your views. Is there something wrong with people who like cold and snow? You don’t like either and I think that is absolutely fine.

  128. I have a question, and me and my wife found it extremely odd. Why was wbz reporting from fitsburgh and Nashua at the 6am newscast, what happen to Boston? Is it because it wasn’t as bad in Boston as 40 miles northwest? And wanted tv ratings? Idk we thought it was weird.

    2. Did you guys just start watching TV news for the first time? They’ve been doing that for decades. Every time we’re going to have snow flurries they all send someone to Worcester. Today it was Nashua, probably because Donald Trump was up there last night, and they had snow/ice today. What bigger and better pair than politics and weather for ratings?

      2. TK, any chance I could email you in private? I understand if you prefer I don’t. I just had a question/thought.

  129. Shotime…Thanks for posting Eric’s page. Interesting analysis on his part. We will see what happens mid-January.

  130. A few late night thoughts…

    Awesome Bruins game. Hayes hat trick. A few fights for the old school fan. Bruins win 7-3. Senators left the ice very frustrated and rather battered. Too bad I wasn’t at this one. Oh well, NESN was fun with Jack Edwards anyway. 🙂

    I’m a little concerned about icing in the interior valleys north central MA into NH tomorrow night. It doesn’t get that warm tomorrow and even though it won’t really go down that much tomorrow night as that system rolls in, it may be just cold enough to support some icing there. It won’t be a concern for areas further south and east. Something to watch.

    I have my doubts about storminess increasing for mid month, but it sure does look colder. My concern is persistent confluent flow Ohio Valley to New England when you have a bowl configuration of the polar jet supplying the cold but a pretty persistent trough in the southern jet stream in the interior Southwest even though the Northwest and western Canada see a ridge. A lot of the systems in the subtropical jet would get to about the Ohio Valley and Mid Atlantic and go straight east while we stay cold and dry.

      1. Yes. I remember when NESN had Fred, Derek, and Dave doing the games together. Then I remember for a while Dale Arnold did the home games and Shea did the aways.

  131. Thanks TK for correcting me regarding the Blue Line. I saw on the TV screen BLUE LINE SERVICE SUSPENDED and assumed it was weather related. I suppose today’s other issues could have just as easily happened on a clear day as well.

  132. Charlie I still have snow on the ground at my house so not sure why you at seeing no snow at yours. 28 here currently.

  134. Good morning!!! Coldest morning so far, can’t wait to go to Bermuda for 12 days next weekend. Perfect timing!!!! Be safe in your travels. 😉

  135. FYI Charlie I work in the travel business and have had the opportunity of traveling the world so I have a ton of experience in airports. Let me make something very clear, Logan is actually one of the best and easiest airports I have used. Unless you have travelled extensively abroad there is no way to comment on how good or bad Logan is, so I will do that for you.
    I have been to every continent except Antarctica and I can tell you without a shread of doubt that Logan has great international and domestic flights and the ease of the airport in comparison to others isn’t even close. So before you make comments you might want to check your attitude and trust people that actually have experience.

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