The first week of 2018 starts with some incredibly cold weather in New England. Most of the time it will be dry, but a large and intense ocean storm could come close enough for a significant snow/wind event on Thursday. The coldest weather in decades is possible for Southeastern New England Friday into Saturday.
Expect it to be dry and frigid with mainly clear skies Monday and Tuesday. It will struggle to get into the teens on Monday, with wind chills below zero. Tuesday looks bitter, but not quite as bad in the afternoon. Highs in the teens. It will get into the 20s, and may reach freezing briefly on Wednesday.
The big storm to watch this week will be in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. It’s likely to be very intense and may come close enough for a significant snow/wind event in RI and SE MA. At this point, it’s about 50/50 for at least 6″ of snow. There’s also about a 20% chance that it heads out to sea and brings no snow at all. We’ll continue to keep you updated on this potentially big storm.
Whether the storm hits or misses, you can expect the coldest weather of this bitter stretch to arrive Friday into Saturday. The high temperature may not reach 10° in the Providence area on Saturday. That has not happened in more than 20 years! Lows will likely be below zero, especially if the storm brings a fresh snowpack.
Happy New Year!
