Messy Sunday Afternoon, Night Expected

BOSTON (CBS) --- It's going to be a messy Sunday afternoon and night no matter how you slice it.

Timing: Rain arrived early Sunday afternoon, falling heavily at times beginning at about 5 p.m. The heavy rains are expected to moving offshore quickly after 10 p.m. Enough cold air moves in on the backside of the storm that the tail end of the precipitation may mix with and changeover to snow along and outside of 495 between 10 p.m. and midnight.

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Rain Expected: The picture below gives you a general idea of how much rain to expect. Keep in mind this is one model depiction…in general, 1"-1.5" of rain will fall.  Beware of ponding of water on the roads and poor drainage flooding.  Take it slow if you're traveling this evening!

Snow Accumulation: A coating to 1" is possible along/outside of 495 with a ramp up in totals as you head into central Vermont, central NH & much of Maine away from the coast.  The "jackpot" 6-12" will be from east-central NH  through central ME.  Winter sports enthusiasts love this news, but residents of Maine will not be happy with a wet, pasty snow. Scattered outages will be possible as the snow clings to trees and powerlines.

Wind:  A high wind warning is posted for the Cape and Islands, a wind advisory for eastern Essex County & southern Bristol & Plymouth Counties – both in effect from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. Monday.

The strongest wind will be from 7 p.m. until midnight. The storm center will pass near the Cape Cod Canal around 10 p.m. Keep in mind the air around low pressure blows in a counter-clockwise direction, so the wind direction will vary. Gusts between 35-45 mph are expected along the southern and eastern coastline of MA. But gusts to 60 mph are possible on Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard, so pockets of damage may occur.

Now for the First Night forecast (you may not want to hear it).  It's going to be cold, we know that. The issue is going to be the wind. It'll kick up behind a cold front Tuesday evening, gusting to 30 mph at times Tuesday night. Skies will be mostly clear but wind chill values will be frigid!

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