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Sloppy Wednesday Evening Commute Expected

BOSTON (CBS) --- This has been some kind of week. Since last Thursday, Boston has had measurable snowfall 5 out of 6 days, accumulating to about 10 inches. wedcommute

Of course many suburbs have gone well above that mark, in southeastern Massachusetts thanks to Saturday's storm and northwest of Boston thanks to yesterday's overachiever. Tired of sloppy commutes? Well I got bad news -- we have another coming this afternoon.

Check: Current Conditions | Interactive Radar | WBZ Weather Blog

Yet another in a series of quick-moving but potent little storms is headed our way with timing almost mirroring what happened yesterday. The big difference this go-around will be slightly milder air in place when the precipitation arrives. Some early sunshine this morning has allowed for temperatures to warm above freezing in eastern Massachusetts and close to 32 degrees to the north and west. At the same time, an area of moderate to heavy rain, ice and snow is moving quickly in our direction, set to arrive by early afternoon.

The mixed bag of precipitation will arrive in Worcester between 1-2 p.m. and in Boston between 2-3 p.m. It will literally only last for about 2-to-4 hours and then it will end as quickly as it began. The big question today is what type of precipitation will be falling? One thing is clear, the farther north and west you go, the better chance for ice and snow.

Close to Boston and areas south, this will be mainly rain with just a slight chance of some wet snowflakes mixing in. The rain will be briefly heavy and we may receive as much as .5 inches in a short period of time, so some street flooding is likely.

In the northern and western suburbs, around 495 (Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Marlboro) there will be a mixed bag, but the biggest concern would be for freezing rain where temperatures dip just below 32 degrees due to heavy precipitation drawing down colder air from above. Untreated roads and surfaces may become very slick later this afternoon, making some driving conditions dangerous.

North and west of 495, in parts of far NW Middlesex County, Worcester County and beyond, much of the precipitation will fall as snow. In fact as much as 1-3 inches of new snow is likely out there with some locally higher amounts in elevated spots including many of the nearby ski areas.

Finally, just when you think it is all over, one last burst of snow is possible later tonight, around midnight. This has the potential to drop another coating to an inch of snow, something to be wary of if you will be traveling later tonight.

And what's next? Low 40s tomorrow and some melting…BUT we are watching a warm front for Thursday night which may bring some light freezing rain north and west of Boston Thursday night. Then another band of rain showers is expected Friday afternoon along with some gusty winds, adding more and more weight to our existing snow pack.

At this point it just seems like cruel and unusual punishment to tell you about next week, but we could be looking at some of the coldest air of the season pouring down from Canada...Winter showing no signs of relenting anytime soon.

Follow Terry on Twitter @TerryWBZ

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