10:13PM
The coldest of the recent spell has gone by, and it will turn a little milder the remainder of this week. But low level cold air will be lingering just to the north as high pressure will be tending to develop there. With snow cover in much of the region (except closer to the South Coast), this will act like a refrigerator, temporing warm-ups, and making it easy for cold air to drain in from the north. Before all of this happens, a warm front will try to push out the last of the current cold air as it passes by early Friday, but a cold front will approach later Friday into Saturday and sink across the region during the weekend. The position of that front will determine temperatures which may vary widely across parts of the region. There will also be some periods of wet weather, mostly in the form of rain, though not a whole lot of precipitation will likely occur. We’ll also have to watch for the potential for icing over the interior areas depending on how much cold is able to drain into the region later in the weekend.
A peek into next week: Cold front sinks to the southeast of the region Monday with mild air replaced by cold. Cold high pressure builds in Tuesday with maybe a few Christmas Eve snow showers, and (timing uncertain) watching a potential clipper system for a bit of Christmas Day snow.
Updated forecast for southeastern New England (southern NH, eastern MA, and RI)…
OVERNIGHT: Clear. Watch for icy patches on ground. Lows from near 10 inland valleys to near 20 South Coast. Wind W under 10 MPH.
THURSDAY: Increasing clouds. Highs 30 inland hills to middle 30s South Coast. Wind W 5-15 MPH gusting over 20 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 30. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. Highs around 40. Wind SW 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY: Cloudy. Chance of rain showers early. Lows in the middle 30s. Highs in the lower 40s.
SUNDAY: Cloudy. Periods of light rain (ice possible inland valleys). Lows around 30. Highs around 40 north to 50 south daytime, may rise at night.
MONDAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers early. Temperatures fall through 40s.
TUESDAY – CHRISTMAS EVE: Partly cloudy. Isolated snow showers. Lows around 20. Highs around 30.
WEDNESDAY – CHRISTMAS DAY: Mostly cloudy. Chance of light snow. Lows around 20. Highs around 30.