Developing nor'easter eyes Boston, New England with snow and ice
Unseasonably cold weather and a low pressure system off the Atlantic coast will deliver some rain and accumulating snow to parts of New England.
The budding storm AccuWeather meteorologists have been watching since last week began to take shape early Sunday morning in the Atlantic, just a few hundred miles off the East Coast.
The storm, is set to bring snow, sleet, ice and rain to part of eastern New England early this week and is likely to evolve into a nor'easter.
Eastern New England was already experiencing some wintry weather at the beginning of the weekend as pockets of snow, rain and slippery travel stuck around Saturday morning behind a cold front that moved through late in the week. This lingering plume of moisture along the coast and just offshore will be the breeding grounds for the nor'easter to develop.
AccuWeather's Weather Radar shows a wave of snow along the New England Coast on Sunday afternoon, January 15, 2023.
The strength of the storm will affect its exact track and the extent of rain and snow over land, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kerry Schwindenhammer.
A storm that strengthens quickly is more likely to move westward, hug the coast and throw heavy precipitation over land compared to a slow-developing storm that would tend to stay at sea, he explained.
Temperatures in the region are another factor that forecasters are accounting for when predicting the storm’s impacts. Thanks to ongoing warmth over the Atlantic and recent warmth along the East Coast, temperatures will be near the threshold for rain and wet snow where precipitation manages to fall.
AccuWeather meteorologists believe the storm will track close enough to the coast to spread periods of rain, ice and wet snow across southeastern Massachusetts, including the nearby islands, but not as far to the west as New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., where the ongoing snow drought will continue.
If all or mostly snow falls, there is the potential for several inches to accumulate which would result in tricky travel conditions. If mostly rain falls, then accumulations will tend to be light and slushy with roads generally wet.
Boston will hover on the northwestern edge of the storm's snow from into Monday. A westward shift in the storm track of as little as 25-50 miles may throw significant snow accumulation into not only the city but also the northern and western suburbs, as well as other locations along the northern and southern New England coast. If this occurs, roads could be slippery and treacherous into Monday morning. A slightly more eastward track would limit snow and rain to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. As of Sunday morning, AccuWeather meteorologists expect a coating to an inch or two of snow to accumulate in the city.
The anticipated track will likely keep strong winds confined to areas from eastern Massachusetts through Maine, AccuWeather Meteorologist Dean DeVore explained.
"Strong winds may be a problem for the north-facing shores of Long Island and the east- and north-facing shores of New England in terms of coastal flooding and sporadic power outages," DeVore said. "But, blustery and cold conditions can occur as far to the west as New York City [through the weekend]."
Since the new moon is many days away, when higher astronomical tides occur, coastal flooding impacts from the storm are likely to be minor, forecasters say.
Farther north, across much of Maine, impacts to travel are likely as precipitation changes over to a mix of snow, rain and ice on Monday.
This icy mixture can make roads slick where a bit of icing occurs or even treacherous where the heaviest icing unfolds.
"Travelers along Interstate 95 from Portland to Bangor, Maine, will want to leave plenty of time to arrive at their destination on Monday as travel is likely to be slow-going or even halted at times," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.
In addition to troublesome travel, any snow and ice that manages to cling to trees or power lines may lead to localized power outages amidst the storm.
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