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Beyond The Forecast: Sunday Snow 'Glancing Blow'

BOSTON (CBS) -- These March weekends have been brutal. This will make the third weekend in a row with below average temperatures and some snow in the air.

The days may be getting longer, but our temperatures just seem to be getting colder!

For this weekend's weather, we turn our eyes to Alberta, Canada and that is never a good thing for those searching for spring.

A classic-looking "Alberta Clipper" will be diving south into the Great Lakes early on Saturday, then it will transfer its energy and redevelop off the Virginia coast Saturday night.

Sure sounds like a recipe for a New England Nor'easter, right? Well, maybe not. As of this writing, it appears as though the storm will develop just (and I mean just) a bit too far south and east to give southern New England more than a glancing blow.

So, working off that assumption, what exactly do we mean by "glancing blow"?

Some light snow would likely fall in parts of Connecticut and the Berkshires on Saturday night, nothing big, perhaps a coating to an inch or two as the storm transfers its energy southeastward to the Atlantic Ocean.

Early Sun. AM weather
The forecast weather map for 7 a.m. Sunday. (WBZ-TV)

Early on Sunday morning, as the storm starts to gather itself and strengthen, some light snow is likely to spread northward along the Massachusetts south coast, Cape Cod and the Islands.

Late Sunday AM weather map
The forecast weather map for late Sunday morning. (WBZ-TV)

Between dawn and early afternoon on Sunday, the shield of snow will likely make some progress northward, perhaps enveloping much of eastern Massachusetts, including Boston and the North Shore.

At this point, it looks like most of the snow north of the Plymouth area would be fairly light and non-disruptive. From Plymouth southward, there could be some heavier bands of snowfall, and that is where the best chance of any significant accumulation would be.

First shot at a snow forecast

3/19 snow forecast
Forecast snow totals for Sunday. (WBZ-TV)

Scattered coatings – a few inches: Eastern Mass., north of Plymouth, including Boston and areas inside of 495.

2-4 inches: From Plymouth southward, including Cape Cod and the Islands.

A bit more: Best chance of any totals higher than 4" would be on the Outer Cape and Nantucket (closer to the storm), perhaps up to 6"

Winds

Sunday wind forecast
Forecast wind gusts for Sunday. (WBZ-TV)

With this forecast track, we can expect some decent northeast wind gusts over southeast Mass. on Sunday: 25-45 m.p.h.+.

With a track a bit farther west, gusts could easily top 50 m.p.h. in that same area and push the 25-45 m.p.h. gusts farther inland.

Gotta stress that there is still a good deal of uncertainty with this one. Just a very minor shift westward in track would mean a plowable, significant snowstorm for much of eastern Massachusetts.

As always, please stay tuned to updates on WBZ-TV and CBSBoston.com.

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