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Dry into the weekend, snow/rain Sunday

It’s a quiet, chilly Thursday night, but there is plenty of reason to head outside. The Geminid meteor shower is peaking, and it is expected to be the best meteor shower of the year. Conditions are perfect with clear skies and a new moon. Check out the post for more information on how to best see the Geminids. The weather will stay dry and seasonable for another two days in Southern New England. Friday looks sunny and not too cool, with highs in the mid to upper 40s. It will turn a bit cooler on Saturday, but stay dry as high pressure noses in from Eastern Canada.

Some snow/rain Sunday

The weather will stay dry through Saturday night as the Canadian high continues to funnel cool air into New England. A storm moving north from the Midwest into the Great Lakes will run into a roadblock in the atmosphere, and the precipitation will start to spread east along a warm front. This does not look like a classic front-end thump of snow for Southern New England on Sunday, but there should be enough moisture and cold air to allow for some flakes to fly just about everywhere, with the only exception being the immediate coast. In many places, the snow will change to rain pretty quickly before accumulating, but areas northwest of Providence should pick up a minor accumulation. In the Providence area, if the cold air hangs on long enough, an inch or two is possible. See the map for details. The first flakes and raindrops are expected Sunday morning.

Early outlook snow forecast for Sunday
Early outlook snow forecast for Sunday – click to enlarge

Right now, the weather does not look good for the Pats-49ers game at Gillette stadium. Some of the steadiest precipitation may coincide with the tailgating and game. It’s a close call between wet snow and cold rain. A storm will form south of Southern New England Sunday night, and there should be enough mild air in place that it brings nothing but rain to RI, CT, and SE MA. Interior New England may pick up a decent snowfall, with several inches possible in parts of Northern New England. The rain will be accompanied by temperatures in the upper 30s to mid 40s, so don’t expect that balmy feel that we had with Monday’s storm. It will be raw.

Another storm in the middle of next week

The break between storms is likely to be short-lived, and by late Tuesday we’ll probably have another storm bearing down on us. It’s still early in the game, but right now it looks like rain is the favored precipitation type for the I-95 corridor in that storm, too. The storm Tuesday night through Wednesday may be more intense than the one Sunday night into Monday. Strong winds, heavier precipitation, and coastal flooding are all possible. The track of the storm is critical because there is not a lot of very cold air in the Northeast or Eastern Canada. If the center of the storm is within 100 miles of the coast, then most, if not all, of Southern New England will see some or all rain. The best chance of heavy snow from the storm is in the interior Northeast from the Poconos to the Adironacks to the Northern New England Mountains. The storm is several days away, and a slight shift in the timing and track will make a difference as to who gets what and when they get it.

The long, long range forecast is for blustery, cold weather at the end of next week. There may even be another shot at some snow next Friday. Don’t give up hope on a white Christmas just yet!

Fred Campagna

President and Chief Meteorologist - Right Weather LLC AMS Certified Consulting Meteorologist #756 AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist #126

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