It will be persistently chilly this week with the cold temperatures peaking (or bottoming out) over the weekend. An Alberta Clipper system is poised to move through later in the week, bringing a quick shot of snow to many.
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY
New England will remain under broad cyclonic flow to start off the week as troughing remains dominant over the region. Subtle disturbances will continue to rotate through the trough early this week, though dry air over the region will preclude any precipitation for much of the region. The northern third of New England will have a chance to see a few snow showers or flurries through Tuesday, being closer to the disturbances. For the rest of New England, the disturbances will only produce some increase in cloud cover at times.
500mb height anomaly showing a trough remaining parked over New England early this week:
Temperatures will remain very stable through midweek, with very little variation from day to day (and night to night). Afternoon highs will be in the 30s for most, with 20s across far northern areas. Overnight lows will be rather uniform across New England, with teens to low 20s region-wide. Conditions for cooling off overnight will be better across southern New England with mainly clear skies while northern areas will be cloudier overnight, preventing temperatures from bottoming out. The result is uniformity across the region.
Precipitation chances will increase heading into Wednesday afternoon and evening for western New England as an Alberta Clipper approaches. The system's warm front will approach ahead of the system itself, resulting in warm air advection in an increase in clouds from west to east in the afternoon. Scattered snow showers will likely break out in the afternoon and evening across Vermont before becoming more widespread after dark.
THURSDAY
Wednesday night into Thursday will see the Alberta Clipper system pass just to New England's north. The system will be strengthening as it passes New England and a secondary low may develop off the coast of Maine. These types of systems often bring New England a quick hit of snow with minor accumulations, and this one appears to be no exception.
Snow showers will become more widespread overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. The warm air advection ahead of the system will likely lead to mixing or rainfall near the coastal plain, but much of interior New England will see snow showers with this system. The bulk of the system with the most widespread and steady precipitation activity will likely come Thursday morning for most, with a gradual tapering of activity from west to east through the afternoon hours.
These kinds of systems are known to be low impact winter weather events that produce minor snowfall accumulations. At this point, a wide swath of 1-3 inches is possible across New England, with lesser amounts along the coastal plain due to mixing issues. Eastern Maine away from the coast may see the most as the system will be strengthening as it passes. A swath of 3-5 inches will be possible across interior eastern Maine.
Below: Current probability of seeing at least 2 inches of snow from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning:
FRIDAY & WEEKEND
As the clipper system strengthens and pulls to the northeast of New England, it will wrap cold air around itself and into New England. This will open the door for a very cold and blustery end to the week. Highs will likely top out in the 20s north to low 30s south Friday through Sunday. Overnight lows will likely be in the single digits and teens as well.
Below: 850mb (about 4,700 feet above sea level) temperatures next Friday, showing the very cold air mass filtering into New England after the passage of the Alberta Clipper, which can be seen just to the northeast of Maine on the map):
Friday and Saturday are currently looking dry as the very cold air mass filters into the region. Another clipper system may drop into New England late next weekend or early next week. There's much uncertainty on whether this one will bring another dose of widespread snow or if it will be more isolated to scattered in nature. Another system is poised to pass well offshore of New England late this weekend as well. Dry air may eat away at these systems over New England, but only time will fill in the details on all of this.
Below: Current weather map for Sunday morning (December 8):
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