Downgraded...
BOSTON (CBS) - Mother Nature decided today that she all of a sudden wants to go easy on us for a change. Most of the information that came in points to much lower snow totals for our weekend storm. We will still see a storm but the impact will be much less and for the most part pretty easy to take.
A few things became more apparent today...first, temperatures near the ground are going to be right at or above freezing through almost the entire weekend. This will make accumulating snow on the roads very difficult and therefore less of an impact on travel. Second, the storm center will be traveling farther south leading to less available moisture for snow formation. Third, the storm itself will be weaker now, this in turn means less wind and a smaller chance for power outages and fewer coastal concerns as well. Lastly, the surface low and the most intense part of the upper level energy will not join forces...together they'd make a big nor'easter but separate they'll be smaller and more manageable.
The first piece moves in late tomorrow...this will be the surface low traveling pretty far south of us so we will be on the northern edge of the precip shield. Although it will be cold enough for snow, except in SE MA, surface temps will be above freezing and any snow that falls will get slushy and melt on roads. The steadiest of the precip within the first phase of the storm will be along the South Coast and there it will be rain. The surface low will pull away Sunday morning collapsing the rain snow line back through the Canal but by then the steady precip will be tapering off so not much opportunity to accumulate. In the end the first piece of the storm is a dud.
The second piece is the upper level cut-off low...this will be more of a snow producer and snow will quickly fill back in by late morning and likely won't shut off until after dark Sunday night...it's going to snow all day Sunday! But this snow will have temps floating just above freezing and daylight working against it so once again a very inefficient snow accumulation. While we aren't expecting big snow accumulations we will still see some...3-6" north and west of Boston and 1-3" south of Boston with just a thin slushy coating on the Cape.
Finally, while we are confident with what we are saying now, this forecast still has some wiggle room built into it and isn't locked in yet so check back for updates tomorrow. Have a great weekend.
