By James M. Arnold, Weather Specialist
Region – Although Santa will be dressed in shorts, a tee shirt and flip flops when he visits New England this year, he better not hang around too long or he will be in for a real surprise. After record smashing warmth over the next 48 hours, we will see a cool down that might be punctuated with our first snow and ice of the season early next week. However, the real pattern flip that I have been expecting looks like it will happen a bit earlier than originally expected, just after the New Year when some pretty cold polar air looks like it will invade the northern tier of states including New England. This will likely be followed by a burst of arctic air during the second week of January along with the potential of a coastal storm during that time. This is still way out beyond my comfort zone, and there are still a lot of moving parts, but most of the indicators are in place. Take a look at the attached model run…and the snow it is calling for in Southern New England!
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