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Snow heads to Mass. tonight

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January 12, 2012|By Colin A. Young and Martin Finucane

Larry Preston of Plainfield cleared his driveway on Oct. 30, 2011. Plainfield… (Matthew Cavanaugh for The…)

A storm will bring a mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow across Central and Western Massachusetts overnight, dropping up to 8 inches of snow in isolated areas, National Weather Service forecasters said.

But east of the Interstate 95 corridor and along the southern coast of the state, the storm will bring mainly rain, forecasters said.

Most interior parts of the state are under a winter weather advisory for snow and ice, effective at 1 a.m. Thursday. Forecasters said the wintry conditions could make for “rough travel” across inland areas overnight.

The highest snow amounts are expected across Western Massachusetts, with some areas predicted 4 to 6 inches. Some isolated high-terrain areas might even see 6 to 8 inches, said weather service meteorologist Matthew Belk.

Temperatures are expected to hold steady or slowly rise during the night. The snow, which had developed from south to north overnight, is expected to change back to all rain from south to north as the day continues. Heavy rain will fall across the eastern half of the state, making for a potentially annoying morning commute.

“Everybody slows down when it rains, and once peep start slowing down -- as they should -- you may wind up with a little more traffic than usual,” said Belk.

Winds are expected to increase overnight, blowing particularly hard along the coast. East winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour are expected along the south coast, with the strongest winds from 6 a.m. until noon Thursday, the forecasters said, issuing a wind advisory.

Forecasters said that with strong winds combining with a high tide, there was also a risk of minor coastal flooding on the eastern coast of the state from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.

The storm will exit by Thursday evening, but a second system will approach from the west, bringing showers and possibly snow showers in northwest Massachusetts Friday morning.

The wind may kick up again Friday, with advisories needed for the Cape and islands and the south coast of the state, Belk said.