The WBZ Weather Team is issuing a NEXT Weather Alert starting at 5pm today.
We have a volatile couple days of weather ahead.
There will be several rounds of rainfall, shifting/gusty winds and a sharp temperature drop that will change the “feels-like” temperatures by nearly 50 degrees in just a few hours!
There is so much going on in the next 48 hours, I think the easiest way to spell it out is with a detailed timeline.
Tuesday afternoon:
A good deal of sunshine to start, increasing clouds later in the day. Temperatures will soar well into the 50s and perhaps to 60 degrees in a few towns. Boston’s record is 64 degrees, we will not reach that but still a very atypical day for late February.
Tuesday night:
Clouds continue to thicken and the first round of rain arrives between 10pm and midnight.
There will be a few heavier downpours and the rain will continue through most of the overnight.
Temperatures stay very mild.
Wednesday morning:
Heaviest and steadiest rain falls early, then we taper to drizzle and lighter showers after 9am.
Southerly winds will be increasing, gusting between 15-35mph.
Wednesday afternoon:
A few lighter showers here and there but, for the most part, we will be in between rain episodes.
Despite the cloudy skies, temperatures will continue to be very mild, between 55-60 degrees in most areas. Boston’s record is 63…again, not likely but also not impossible.
A wind advisory will be in effect all day Wednesday. Southerly gusts will top 40mph along the Coastline and over southeastern MA.
Wednesday night:
A potent cold front comes through just before midnight. Along this front there will be a line of very heavy rainfall. There could be some embedded thunder in this line as well as a brief burst of winds as highs as 50-55mph.
The heaviest rain fall between 8pm-1am.
As the colder air rushes in behind this front, the precipitation could change briefly to some wet snow just as it is tapering off around or just after midnight.
Thursday morning:
In the span of just a few hours, we go from spring back to winter!
A sharp temperature drop occurs after the cold front passes through in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Any leftover, standing water will freeze up.
As you head out Thursday morning, the rain will be long gone but the airmass will have a mid-winter sting to it.
Wind chill values will range from the single digits into the teens most of the morning.
Thursday afternoon:
Actual air temperatures will attempt to recover back into the 30s, however the winds will get one final push.
Now out of the west, we expect gusts to 50 or 55 mph across most of southern New England.
This will keep wind chills in the teens and also likely cause some scattered wind damage and power outages.
What’s Next?
A much quieter start to March, which arrives on Friday. The winds will die down significantly and temperatures will be back to near seasonal levels.
We warm up again this weekend, back into the 50s. However, there is a threat of rain showers both days. More on this to come…
Click here for Westford snow storm data and past totals or select “Winter Snowfall“ under “Pages” on the left hand side.
For more up to date forecast information follow me on Twitter (@terrywbz) or follow the WBZ weather team on Facebook, search WBZWeather
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