10:30PM
It’s like the atmosphere is trying to snow, but just can’t seem to do so in a meaningful way. We’ll likely have a few more so-close-yet-so-far episodes over the next few days…
Friday… Low pressure will move rapidly east northeastward just south of New England but with marginal temperatures, much of the Boston area will see little if any in the way of snow accumulation. In fact, the bulk of the precipitation may fall as rain in the city, before mixing with and possibly changing to snow toward the end of the precipitation event later in the morning.
Friday night / Saturday… Colder air drains in, and winds turn north to northeast on the east side of a high pressure area. Cold enough air will be in place to cause some ocean-effect snow showers. How far these penetrate inland depends on the trajectory of the wind. Expect at least the coastal areas from Boston to the South Shore to see some snow shower activity Friday night and Saturday morning. Only minor accumulations are expected in some locations.
Saturday night (Christmas Eve)… Santa will find a mostly clear sky and cold temperatures as he travels through the area.
Sunday (Christmas Day)… A strong disturbance in the upper levels approaches from the northwest with clouds moving in and a chance of snow showers. Later in the day and at night this energy will jump to a low pressure area developing offshore. Current indications are that this system will be too far out and too fast to throw any meaningful snow back into the region. We should keep an eye on it, however, as just 24 hours ago, computer models were not showing much of anything, a clear sign they continue to have problems with the pattern we are in.
Next week… Tranquil late December weather is expected with no major cold or storms.
Boston Area Forecast…
OVERNIGHT: Overcast. Rain and areas of fog developing. Temperature cooling to 35-40. Wind shifting to N up to 10 MPH.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with rain mixing with and possibly changing to snow northwest to southeast with minor accumulation of snow especially outside Route 95. Mostly cloudy to partly sunny in the afternoon. Temperature dropping to near 32 in the morning then recovering to a high about 40 in the afternoon. Wind N increasing to 10-20 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. Snow showers, especially near the coast from Boston to the South Shore with minor accumulation possible. Low 20-25. Wind NE 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY: Variably cloudy. Chance of snow showers, especially in the morning and especially from Boston through the South Shore with additional minor accumulation. High 29-34. Wind NE-N 5-15 MPH.
SATURDAY NIGHT – CHRISTMAS EVE: Partly cloudy to mostly clear. Low 15-20. Wind N-NW 5-10 MPH.
SUNDAY – CHRISTMAS DAY: Increasing clouds. Chance of snow showers in the afternoon. High 34-39. Wind variable 5-15 MPH.
MONDAY: Mostly cloudy. Low 26. High 36.
TUESDAY: Partly sunny. Low 22. High 41.
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. Low 27. High 40.