A strengthening storm system is looking to pass well south of New England. Trends over the past 24 hours have moved the system a bit further to the north, closer to New England, but still outside the 40/70 benchmark. These trends favor a snowy day for southern New England, mainly south of the Mass Turnpike. Like Tuesday, amounts are looking to remain light.
Snow showers will likely begin in the mid to late morning on Friday across Connecticut before spreading north and east during the afternoon. By the afternoon, light snow will be falling across much of southern New England. The storm's exact track will ultimately determine the northern extent of the snow showers, but southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire appear to be about as far north as it will get.
These snow showers will generally be light and scattered for much of the afternoon, leading to a dusting to two inches for most in southern New England as the storm just gives New England a glancing blow.
The area that will likely see the most will be the south shore and Cape Cod. These areas could see 3-4 inches when all is said and done due to ocean enhancement. The cold northeast wind off the ocean could allow for some steadier snowfall rates. With plenty of cold air in place, this event will be snow all the way to the immediate coast.
Snowfall amounts are a bit tricky to say just due to the ocean enhancement expected. This will likely create a narrow band of more intense snow for a time. Where that sets up will have the best shot at seeing 3-5 inches. Some areas in the 3-5 inch zone on the map above will likely end up with less.
Any steadier bands of snow will favor setting up across Plymouth County. Cape Cod may not see ocean enhancement until Friday evening or night when the system is pulling away and winds shift to a more north orientation. Due to this, there is bust potential, though it's hard to bring up busting when you're only talking a few inches anyway. One other item to note is that the snow will be very light and fluffy with cold temperatures in place.
Overall, we'll need to watch today's trends to see if the northward trend holds, or continues as this will have a role in both snowfall amounts and the northward extent of snow showers. Either way, this will be a light snowfall event.
After this system moves through New England, the door will be wide open for very cold air to pour into the region. Saturday will be the coldest day of the season for a majority of New England. Temperatures will drop off Friday night and stay very cold through Sunday morning. Winds will also be blustery Saturday thanks to the departing low pressure to our east and building high pressure to our west, keeping wind chills in the single digits for most through Saturday.
The bitter cold will last through Saturday night and into Sunday morning. On Sunday, high pressure begins to build to New England's south. This will allow for the day to get a bit "warmer" than Saturday, but still chilly. Wind chills will still be there, but not to the extent of Saturday.
By Monday, the area of high pressure to New England's south will likely be somewhere around the Carolinas. This will allow for a deeper southerly flow, boosting temperatures back to seasonable levels. Southern New England will likely see more of a warm-up, especially early next week. Northern New England will likely not warm as much. A cold front could drop into northern New England on Tuesday, keeping things cooler there.
Above average temperatures will likely hang around for all of next week and possibly through the end of January. The Climate Prediction Center maintains the entire United States in above average temperatures in both their 6-10 and 8-14 day outlooks.
As for precipitation, there are signals for a system around midweek next week. Early indications show a potential for a mixed precipitation event across New England, but it's much too early to try to go into details. There are currently no strong signals that this will be a significant event.
Weather map for Wednesday, January 24:
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