DEDHAM, Mass. — A nasty April nor’easter that ramped up overnight is continuing to unleash snow, sleet, and rain on Massachusetts on Thursday morning, causing school cancellations and delays, as well as slick travel conditions on the roads and power outages from wind damage.
LIVE RADAR: Track the nor’easter as it moves through Massachusetts
Parts of northern and western Massachusetts are seeing heavy snow, while other parts of the state are seeing a wintry mix or soaking rainfall.
“If you’re driving into Boston from the north and the west today, you need to be prepared for slowdowns,” Boston 25 Metrologist Shiri Spear warned in her latest forecast. “A lot of the day, the roads will be wet.”
The Boston 25 Weather team has issued a Weather Alert due to the array of storm threats.
LATEST TIMELINE
The worst of this storm steams through Thursday morning.
Also on Thursday morning, the passing of the storm center will shift winds to the north, bringing cold air south.
That’ll change sleet and rain to snow into the afternoon and evening, all the way to Boston.
“Through lunchtime, I’m seeing big headache weather up into central Mass., along 495, into the Merrimack Valley, and southern New Hampshire as snow and occasional sleet continues,” Spear said. “In fact, we’ve got snow even into the evening commute, specifically in MetroWest, Northern Mass., southern New Hampshire. I don’t think there’s a ton of sticking in Boston itself.”
Clearing comes on Friday, which will be cloudy and generally dry.
STORM WARNINGS, WATCHES AND ADVISORIES
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Northwest Middlesex, Northern Worcester, Western Franklin, Western Hampshire, and Northern Berkshire counties due to the snow, strong wind gusts, and power outages.
A flood warning is in effect for Middlesex, Norfolk, Bristol, and Plymouth counties.
A coastal flooding warning is in effect for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties.
A high wind warning has been posted for Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, Barnstable, and Northern Berkshire counties.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for Western Hampden, Southern Berkshire, Eastern Franklin, Central Middlesex, Western Essex, and Southern Worcester counties.
A wind advisory is in effect for Central Middlesex, Western Essex, Western Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex, and Southern Berkshire counties.
LIKELY SNOW AMOUNTS
POWER OUTAGES AND COASTAL FLOODING
Power outages are likely due to a combination of heavy, sticky snow, wind, and saturated soil.
“There are a lot of layers to this storm. First, we’ve got the heavy, wet snow. But we’ve also got a lot of heavy rain. That makes the ground saturated and vulnerable to tree damage out there,” Spear said.
All beaches in Southern New England are at risk because wind gusts of 50-60 mph will drive water toward the shore, resulting in minor to moderate coastal flooding and beach erosion.
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