A Boston snowstorm is expected to turn the city into a winter wonderland this weekend. This snowstorm in Boston will be the first snow of the year for the city, but more significant, potentially the greatest accumulation the city has experienced in the past two years for this first week of January, weather sources report.
New snowstorm tracking predicts that Eastern Massachusetts will accumulate “heavy dense snow” with wind gusts from 30-50 miles per hour. Central and Western Massachusetts will have lighter, fluffy snow, but more of it. The snow in Boston is now expected to begin earlier, around 5 PM on Saturday.
When is the Boston snowstorm?
Right now, the storm is on track to reach New England Saturday, January 6. The snow will begin late Saturday night, with the bulk of the snowfall occurring Sunday morning and tapering in the afternoon.
“It’s potentially the first significant snowstorm of the winter,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist John Feerick told the Herald on Tuesday.
“It should be a fairly quick mover with most of the snow Sunday morning,” Feerick said. “Then the snow should taper off Sunday afternoon.” The greatest accumulation is expected Sunday, January 7 around 10 AM.
How much snow will Boston get?
This snowfall is expected to be “plowable,” according to local meteorologists. Currently, the expected snowfall is 6 inches, but could change.
What are the temperatures expected?
With the temperature predicted to reach highs of 34 and lows of 26 on Saturday and Sunday, it’s challenging to determine if this snow might end up being slush instead.
The weather in Boston has been abnormally warm. This past December was the warmest cumulative on record.
Snow cover, which transalates to how much land is saturated in snow, is at its lowest point since 2005 for North America.
So, contrary to Bostonians’ traditional disapproval of an incoming snowstorm, many are surprisingly excited for the potential snow on the horizon and already planning their sledding excursion.
“Heavy precipitation will spread across the Southeast/Mid-Atlantic and possibly the Northeast this coming weekend, with increasing potential for heavy snow to the north and west of the low,” the Weather Prediction Center said. “Exact amounts and precipitation type for some of the major East Coast cities remains highly uncertain at this point but does need to be watched.”
The storm’s route
Storms on the west coast are traveling east. These El Niño winter storms are still far from Boston, so it’s difficult to predict their exact route. Current radars show the western storms circling Northeast and causing heavy precipitation beginning Saturday night.