A storm will track across the country this week, spreading snow from the Rockies right through New England. This storm's center will very likely track right through the middle of New England, which is basically what every storm this winter has done so far. That means that the precipitation coming will also be similar to what the region has dealt this all winter long.
This storm is still VERY far out, so there will be fluctuations in this forecast as next week arrives. With that said, here is an early look at what the weather models are trending towards.
With a storm track through New England, that puts New England in the "everything" track, meaning that just about all precipitation types will fall across the region, with rain falling in southern New England and snow falling in northern New England with mixing and potential icing in between.
The storm is looking to come into the region Wednesday night and continue through Thursday evening. Central New England will likely be the battleground between the warm and cold air, with sleet and freezing rain falling in this area. The National Weather Service of Gray, Maine states:
"There will likely be large areas of sleet and freezing rain, but how much of these set up through our forecast area or to the south remains uncertain. Regardless, a significant winter storm is increasingly likely during this timeframe."
An early headline for this storm is for the potential of an ice storm in some areas, particularly in western New England (i.e. southern Vermont, southern New Hampshire and the Berkshires). Whether or not an ice storm develops will be determined by how much warm is aloft during the storm. If there is more warm air, that means freezing rain, more cold air aloft would support sleet.
Northern New England could be looking at a major snow event. This storm will likely bring much needed snow to ski country. Two weaker events will also bring snow to the mountains before this storm. This storm, along with the two smaller storms could dump anywhere from 20-30 inches of snow on the mountains.
Outside of the resorts, this storm could bring heavy snowfall to valley towns as well. It's too soon to get into snowfall amounts in these areas, but this storm could bring significant snow to areas that will remain all snow for the duration of the storm.
In southern New England, the storm appears like it will start as a wintry mix and transition to rain before ending as some snow. How much of this storm will be rain and how much will be a mix and ice will likely be determined by elevation. Areas of eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island will likely see mainly rain whereas the Worcester Hills and Berkshires could see more sleet and freezing rain.
TAKEAWAYS:
>Significant, high impact storm likely.
>This storm will likely bring every precipitation type to New England.
>Snow north, rain south, mix in between.
>Ice storm potential in southern Vermont, the Berkshires and the Monadnocks.
>I want to emphasize the word potential above. The models will be having some trouble nailing down precipitation types for this storm. An ice storm is possible, meaning a 50/50 chance at this point.
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