“Slow and steady” storm could drop up to 6 inches of snow in the Boston area – CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) – Slowly and steadily. . . This is how I would best describe the snow that comes Thursday evening and Friday.

Up until that point, most of our blizzards had strong streaks, which were responsible for the vast majority of the highest snow accumulations. Find out where the banding will build up and that is your jackpot snow zone.

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Another consistent theme this winter was fast moving storms. Most were here and there in 6-12 hours. They wait for the trailing edge to arrive and go out and clean it up.

This one will be a little different.

With the storm’s trail being so far south and the actual low pressure area being quite extensive and weak, I don’t see any strong streaks in that direction. A slower, more gradual accumulation makes the road crew’s job a lot easier. Sure, a prolonged storm can mean more hours being spent on the roads, but the lower intensity will certainly make the job a lot easier to handle.

The National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories for southern New England rather than the more ominous “winter storm warnings”. The criterion for an alert is a forecast that provides at least 8 inches of snow in 24 hours or 6 inches of snow in 12 hours. Some areas can reach nearly 6 inches from this storm, but it will last for a much longer period of time.

(WBZ-TV graphic)

TIMELINE:

On Thursday there will be a first snow push at noon and in the afternoon, which could bring steady snow to the Mass Pike with only a few thunderstorms north. That first wave will slide east and out to sea by Thursday evening, and we will enter a lighter period of isolated snow showers around midnight.

In general, expect light to moderate snow spells from midnight through Friday noon. I would estimate that by Friday noon, about 80% to 90% of our total storm accumulation will be on the ground. During those 12 hours from midnight to noon on Friday, the average is 2 to 4 inches (less than 0.5 inches per hour). . . slowly and steadily.

The snow showers continue from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning, but very little additional build-up is expected during this period. At most, notice a coating to an inch or two in the last 24 hours of the storm.

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HOW MUCH:

4 to 6 inches of snow within 495, including the entire MA Coastline, Boston, Worcester and down through Cape Cod.

The closer you are to the coast, the heavier and wetter.

(WBZ-TV)

2-4 ”outside of 495 … Areas north and west of a line from Worcester to Marlboro to Lowell and Lawrence. . . This includes northern Middlesex County, northern Worcester County, and most of southeastern New Hampshire. This will be a lighter and fluffier snow with colder temperatures in this region.

Also expect 2-4 “above Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Islands. There is a lot of rainfall down there, but sometimes some mixing and a much wetter consistency.

Coating to 2 inches north and west of Fitchburg and Manchester, New Hampshire. . . very light snow this way (in intensity and consistency).

We really don’t have any problems with wind, blackouts or coastline. By New England standards, this should be a no-brainer.

Be sure to keep up to date on WBZ-TV, CBSBoston.com, and CBSN Boston during the storm

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