An intensifying low pressure just to the east of Maine will continue to peel northeast, away from New England today. This system sent bands of snow into Maine throughout the night and into the morning. For the rest of today, it will aid in strong wind gusts. The storm is strengthening quickly, with the central pressure dropping from 975 to 965 millibars as it passes just east of Maine. Westward trends have continued with the snow bands, and a good 5-10 inches of snow will be possible by this evening for eastern Maine.
Below: FV3 showing potential weather early this afternoon:
A low-level jet (located about 4,700 feet above sea level) of 55-70mph will be in place over New England Friday morning into the afternoon. With a tightening pressure gradient, cold air advection and clearing skies all aiding in mixing, stronger gusts will have a much easier time mixing to the surface than they did Wednesday night. These winds will lead to areas of blowing and drifting snow across the north, especially eastern Maine, where visibility could be greatly reduced throughout the day at times.
The higher elevations of southern New England (Berkshires, Worcester Hills) are currently in line with the strongest of the low-level winds to see the strongest gusts during the day. Gusts here could reach over 50mph at times with an outside chance of reaching 60mph. Elsewhere in New England, gusts over 40mph will be possible throughout the day. A secondary area of very high winds is naturally expected across the White Mountains as well. High wind warnings have been issued for the Worcester Hills and downslope Berkshires.
Heading into the weekend and next week, the overall flow pattern will begin to trend more zonal as the period goes on. This will generally keep more impactful southern stream storm systems to the south of New England. A series of weaker and moisture-starved northern stream disturbances look to trickle through New England with minimal to no impacts through midweek.
Without interaction between the northern and southern streams, the northern streamers passing through New England will result in not much more than some clouds and maybe a few light rain/snow showers at times. The weekend is looking mainly to completely dry for much of New England with cooler temperatures as a breezy northwest wind continues. Broad cyclonic flow will continue over New England, allowing for some scattered snow showers on Saturday, mainly in the mountains, but some may be able to slip southward.
Below: NAM showing potential weather Saturday morning:
The winds will continue to be the main weather story over the next few days as they will be slow to back off. The intense low pressure system responsible for today's snow and wind will keep the pressure gradient tight on Saturday as the storm swirls around Canada. The storm's central pressure will drop to around 950 millibars. With building high pressure to the west, New England will be caught in the middle of a pressure gradient of around 75 millibars.
A quick, northern stream clipper-like system will likely dive through New England on Monday. With an increasingly zonal flow over the east, this system will shoot through New England with very limited moisture. A moisture-rich system over the south will remain well south of New England, preventing a more organized and widespread storm. The northern streamer may be able to produce some light snow and/or rain showers (mainly over northern New England) on its own, but even this may be difficult to achieve.
This separation of the northern and southern streams have been how much of this winter has panned out. Suppression of southern stream systems prevented the "Blizzard of 2025" from moving through New England in a winter that otherwise seemed poised to bring a significant snowstorm (not that we're completely writing off a late season nor'easter quite yet).
A sub-tropical ridge of high pressure is expected to slide across the southern United States moving into next week. This will allow for a gradual increase in temperatures after the weekend cool-down as a southerly flow develops around the ridge. Combine this with a zonal flow pushing mild Pacific air across the country, and temperatures will likely be back above average by mid-week next week. Depending on exactly how everything sets up, low 60s will be possible in southern New England by midweek. With that said, there are caveats that could thwart, or at least subdue, the warm-up in New England.
Below: 500mb height anomaly heading into midweek, showing the ridge moving over the east while a trough builds in the west:
While a notable warm-up is the current forecast for New England heading into the Tuesday-Thursday time frame, there is a decently large spread in just how mild temperatures will get. This stems from the wave of northern stream systems pushing through the area next week. These waves have been trending northward, which would allow for the mild air to get into New England easier, however, the placement of these disturbances have been very inconsistent.
Even with the tracks to the north of New England, a trailing cold front will likely drop into New England later Tuesday. How far south this front can get before slowing down and eventually stalling out will play a large role in temperatures across New England, especially Wednesday and Thursday. Areas north of this front will likely cool off after a mild Tuesday while areas that stay near or south of the front will stay very mild on these days. Tuesday may be the mildest day for many.
Below: Current weather map for Wednesday morning (March 12), showing the cold front:
This cold front looks to be a dry passage, however, an increase in clouds will be possible along it. The amount of clouds will also help determine just how mild it can get later in the week. We're reaching toward that point in the year where temperature forecasts are highly sensitive.
These clouds could mean the difference between 50s and potentially reaching into the 60s for southern and even central New England. The northern tier will be warmer (40s to low 50s) for Tuesday, but confidence in temperatures drops quite a bit for Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures could drop off quite a bit for Wednesday. This uncertainty can be seen on the Climate Prediction Center's 6-10 day outlook. Above warmth is favored for New England, but confidence drops off moving northward in the region.
The next chance for more widespread precipitation likely won't come until late next week. At this point, even this looks rather meager, but we'll watch the trends over the next week. It could be a snow-maker for northern Maine.
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