The Big One

Posted by Pete Bouchard

Well, it's lock and load folks. The finer points of the forecast are coming together, but I will add that we still don't have the entire picture of this evolving event Friday and Saturday.

But it's certainly enough to put down some serious numbers:

We're talking about a memorable storm here - possibly epic for Eastern Mass. Last night, we were looking for that missing ingredient to tip the scales at 2 feet, and this morning it showed up on the weather maps. That key feature is called a cut-off low. When the storm deepens east of Cape Cod, it will actually cut off from the jetstream and temporarily stall - for up to 6 hours. This is when we'll get hammered with snow and wind. Snowfall rates could approach 2-4 inches per hour if thunderstorms get going. Yes, I said thunderstorms. These are reserved for only the most intense storms, and this one fits the bill.

Mix and rain are almost side issues with this storm. Certainly they will cut down on snow totals as reflected in the above amounts, but eventually everyone will be snow when the storm stalls and the cold smacks back into Mass. on the north wind.

Timeline:

First flakes in the 7am-10am timeframe Friday morning.

Steadier snow throughout the morning and afternoon. Roads still passable and navigated with caution.

Heavier snow late afternoon/evening.

Midnight Friday night into Saturday AM: go time. Roads difficult to maneuver or impassable. Plows will have a hard time keeping up.

Storm wraps by late AM/early PM Saturday, but flakes may still be flying into the evening!

See what I mean about the changeover issue not being a big deal? In this long duration storm, the first part of the event (with the changeover) will be obscured by the heavy hand of white outs and near blizzard conditions at the height of the storm.

There's much more ahead. Stay with 7News and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates:

@pbouchardon7

@jreineron7

@clamberton7

Pete

Back and Forth

Posted by Chris Lambert

Quite a few clouds in the sky at times this afternoon, but the atmosphere lacked ample moisture to produce showers, so we made out just fine with temps near 70.  Even the coast made it well into the 60s before the onshore wind knocked temps back.

Pretty Good Weekend Overall

Posted by Chris Lambert

Sure, it's a cool start with many of the suburbs down into the upper 30s and lower 40s, but we'll warm up quickly through the day as that sun helps us out.

Strong Finish

Posted by Chris Lambert

An overall cooler day, but also a great end to the workweek as highs neared 70, low humidity continued and plenty of sunshine dominated the skies.  Now all we need is this to continue through the weekend right?

Still Good

Posted by Chris Lambert

How about yesterday?  The 82 in Boston matched the warmest temp we've had since September 13th.  Of course, with a wind gusting past 30mph and relative humidity near 18%, it certainly didn't feel oppressive.