A heavy rain storm will change to snow before ending early Friday. The change to snow will happen from north to south, and some accumulation is possible – especially in the higher elevations inland. Even if the snow does not stick, there is still a good chance of slippery spots due to black ice Friday morning.
Rain overspreads Southern New England on Thursday and will likely be heavy at times in the afternoon and evening. 1-2″ of rain is likely for most of RI, CT and Southeastern MA. A change from rain to mix to snow is likely from north to south between 12 am – 4 am Friday. The best chance of picking up a 1-3″ of wet/heavy snow is in the higher elevations of CT and NW RI. There will likely be more accumulation on the grass than on the pavement. Some accumulation cannot be ruled out in the I-95 corridor, but the snow will be falling onto wet surfaces and the temperature will take a bit longer to fall below freezing. A coating to an inch of snow is possible in coastal CT and most of RI inside of I-295.
It looks like a slick Friday morning commute as any snow ends early in the day, but the temperature will be below freezing and wet spots may become icy. It will be a chilly last day of winter with temps struggling to get back into the 40s during the afternoon. The good news is that a warm-up is likely late in the weekend and next week for the start of spring. Saturday is the first day of the new season.
Is this the last brush with snow until the fall/winter? The weather looks relatively warm next week, and the odds of accumulating snow get very low by early April. While a freak system cannot be ruled out in April, there is a pretty good chance that this will be the last time we’re talking about accumulating snow until October, at least.