That’s a loaded forecast, so let’s dive into it!
First things first: An arctic cold front, currently draped over the North Country, is opening the gates for another blast of bitter cold air to settle overhead. We have unfortunately already reached the maximum temperature on Friday and are heading back into the single digits by dinner time.
The front is accompanied by a few flakes of snow, but these are quickly ending this morning, with clear to partly sunny skies by afternoon.
Overnight lows are in the teens and single digits below zero Saturday morning, but with a strong northerly wind at 10-15 mph, let wind chills (especially in the north of the country) range between -20 and – 30. Wind chill advisories and warnings remain in place until 1 p.m. Saturday.
Saturday is simply COLD! High temperatures in most places are struggling to reach the teens, and with the northeast strengthening off the coast, it sucks in air keeping N winds at 10-20 mph gusting up at 40 mph. This means that wind chills remain between -15 and -20 even on Saturday afternoon.
This northeast could end up being one of the strongest winter storms southern New England has seen in years!
A blizzard warning is in place for parts of Massachusetts, coastal New Hampshire and Maine as winds will fluctuate between 60 and 80 mph and snowfall rates in some of the heaviest bands will be between 3 and 4 inches per hour…absolutely insane! Just take a look at some of the expected snowfall totals through Saturday night.
Back in our area, we watched the storm track closely as it “wobbles” a bit, but this storm system never really targeted northern New England and New York. That being said, the latest trends have favored a westerly jog through the center of the low pressure and that puts parts of southern and eastern Vermont and the upper valley into play for some light accumulations (relative to southern New England)
The further east you travel, the more snow you find. Only a few flakes are expected in New York’s North Country… Just a dusting along the Champlain Valley. The western slopes of the greens can see a dusting at 3 inches, while the Connecticut River Valley and Northeast Kingdom range between 2 and 5 inches. In southern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire, a few spots can get closer to 4-8″
Back to partly sunny skies on Sunday, although we are still in the teens for afternoon highs… We are expecting a midweek warming in the 40s next week!
Have a good week-end!
– Skytracker Meteorologist Haley Bouley
