Winter storm warnings for parts of Mass. as weekend storm arrives
Winter storm warnings are in effect for parts of Massachusetts as a winter storm moves through the region Saturday, with snow likely across much of the area.
A winter storm warning is in effect for Northern Worcester, Northern and Central Middlesex, Western Essex, Franklin, Hampshire, Western Hampden, and Berkshire counties in Massachusetts through early Sunday morning.
Winter weather advisories are in place for much of the greater Boston area and the northeast coast of Massachusetts, including southern Worcester county, Norfolk county and the northern half of Plymouth and Bristol Counties through early Sunday morning.
Snow began falling Saturday evening in southern New England and changed to a wintry mix Saturday night.
Low pressure moved from the Great Lakes toward southern Quebec, spawning a secondary low along the Mid-Atlantic coast Saturday. The secondary low moved toward southern New England, spreading snow across the area starting late Saturday evening.
“If you have to get onto the roadways this evening, I would say between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. is the worst time for travel,” said StormTeam 5 meteorologist Kelly Ann Cicalese.
“Everyone traveling should monitor the forecast and expect to travel at slower speeds when the snow is falling,” said Jonathan Gulliver, the highway administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “We advise people to drive the conditions during the storm which means keeping a safe distance behind other vehicles and allowing for plenty of time to slow down and reducing speeds when making turns or traveling on highway on and off ramps.”
The best chance for enough snow to shovel should be outside of the Interstate 495 belt, where some areas may see 3 to 6 inches. Communities inside I-495 may see 1 to 3 inches.
Following the wintry mix, windy and colder weather will return for the first half of next week. High temperatures Monday and Tuesday will stay in the 20s, despite some sunshine.