By James M. Arnold, Weather Specialist
Region – Just a brief note to share my thoughts about the coming week and the three chances for snow that I see in that time frame.? The first chance is hardly worth mentioning and?will be here?about Sunday night?as?a weak, relatively moisture starved?wave will be passing to our south as it travels along the cold front which will bring an end to our current beautiful spring-like weather.? We should see?only minor accumulations of snow at most,?less?if there is?rain in the mix, and there is a chance of that happening.?? I don’t see much chance of this system becoming anything more than a nuisance, if it does that much.
The second chance will be about Wednesday, with another disturbance running along the same cold front, but further south.? This system will be a bit more organized and could bring several inches of snow to central Massachusetts, but it could?go out to sea to our south.? Again, track issues for a storm that hasn’t formed yet prevent a definitive outlook.
The third and I think the best chance for a disruptive storm is over next weekend.? A package of Pacific energy will bring much needed rain to the drought stricken areas of California by midweek, and thereafter travel across the southern part of the U.S.? At the same time, an arctic front will move through our area about Thursday, bringing with it a real blast of arctic air as it settles to our south.? The storm?will eventually hook up with?the arctic front energy off the?Virginia Capes?and will likely run up the eastern seaboard, potentially delivering a major snowfall to the I 95 corridor.? What happens here in central Massachusetts?depends on it's track in relation to the benchmark, that magic spot in the ocean to the southeast of Nantucket.? This storm too, could go harmlessly out to sea, but my feeling right now is that it will track near the benchmark and give most of southern New England a noteworthy snowstorm with bitter cold temperatures and high winds.
As more data becomes available I will?refine my thoughts about these potential storms and their possible impact on central Massachusetts.
James M. Arnold is a Weather Specialist working with Shrewsbury Emergency Management Agency; town of Princeton; Worcester Emergency Communications and Emergency Management Agency; Southborough Emergency Management Agency; town of Grafton and Wachusett Mountain Ski Area