Some Snow To Impact Friday Morning Commute

 

Snow is in the forecast for the Friday morning commute and this will be the first time we have seen an impact to a commute from snow this season. The initial snowfall of the season always creates a lot of noise. Although some of us have seen the grass turn white already (two weeks ago on a Sunday), this snow will be more widespread.

Today is a nice day and although it’s going to be a colder, there will be a lot sunshine, especially the first part of the day. Some clouds filter in during the afternoon and will tend to thicken overnight. It will be between 45-50F today and into the 30s overnight. Late tonight some rain breaks out and changes to snow from Worcester to Boston in the morning.
The precipitation will end during the late morning and some sunshine should pop out in the afternoon. It’s going to be a very chilly Friday with highs in the upper 30s in the Worcester hills to lower 40s in Boston. Parts of the Cape and Islands could see mid 40s, but even there it’s a raw day.
Snow Totals
Snowfall will not be significant, but there could be two or even three inches in some of the higher terrain of Worcester County and also around the hilly areas south of Boston. Even Boston could see some snow on the grass and if it comes down hard enough up to an inch isn’t out of the question.
When you are talking such small numbers the impact is more visual than anything else. If you see an inch of snow it will look like winter for sure. The roads are still warm, but in those areas where the snow comes down hard enough some slick spots will develop. In addition, when you add in the commute and the fact people tend to still drive like there isn’t any snow on the ground even when there is, there’s likely to be some issues on parts of the highways and secondary roads tomorrow morning.
The map below gives a general idea where the snow will fall. Notice east of the Cape Cod Canal I am not expecting any snow to accumulate.
 The next two images show some of the model data for the upcoming snow event. The NAM, which is not a good model at all is way out on a limb with snowfall but the other models are generally clustered in the coating to 2” range. This is why the forecast is what it is for tomorrow. These are for Boston, so it's a bit less snow south and east and more west. The different lines represent different models.