‘Not going to be pretty’: April nor’easter to bring snow, rain, strong wind gusts to Mass.

DEDHAM, Mass. — An April nor’easter packing snow, sleet, rain, and powerful wind gusts will move into New England on Wednesday and persist into Thursday, bringing the possibility for power outages and flooding.

LIVE RADAR: Track the nor'easter as it moves through Massachusetts

Parts of northern and western Massachusetts could see up to a foot of snow, while other areas will see lighter accumulations and heavy, soaking rainfall.

The Boston 25 Weather team has issued a Weather Alert due to the array of storm threats.

We are on a WEATHER ALERT ahead of this next big impact storm. Heavy rain, snow, wind, and coastal flooding are all issues we are watching -- stay with us as we track the latest! pic.twitter.com/DKuCWrb9BU
— Vicki Graf (@VickiGrafWX) April 3, 2024

WEATHER ALERT: Power outages, flooding likely when nor'easter ramps up.
WEATHER ALERT: Power outages, flooding likely when nor'easter ramps up.
Posted by Boston 25 News on Wednesday, April 3, 2024

TIMELINE

Light rain is set to move into the greater Boston area by late Wednesday morning. Showers will be low-impact during the afternoon, turning heavier through the evening commute.

“Most of it is light until we get to the evening hours. That’s when it’s going to turn more intense,” Boston 25 Metrologist Shiri Spear said in her latest forecast.

Heavy rain, heavy snow, and strong wind will peak overnight through Thursday morning. Overnight snow will change to sleet and snow in several spots north and west of Boston by 8 a.m.

“If you’re driving into Boston from the north or from the west. It’s going to be a slick ride to work. It’s not going to be pretty out there, especially with gusty winds on top of all that precipitation,” Spear said.

Rain and snow will turn lighter on Thursday afternoon with only minor additional accumulation.

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 chance for heavy snow, strong wind gusts, and power outages.

Other parts of the Bay State, including Western Hampden, Eastern Franklin, and Southern Berkshire counties are under a winter weather advisory.

Flood watches have been issued for Northern Bristol, Western Plymouth, Central Middlesex, Western Norfolk, and Southeast Middlesex counties.

Coastal flood watches have been issued for Southern Bristol, Southern Plymouth, Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties.

A high wind warning has been posted for Northern Berkshire, South Bristol, Southern Plymouth, Dukes, Nantucket, Eastern Essex, Suffolk, Eastern Norfolk, Eastern Plymouth, and Barnstable counties.

Wind advisories are in effect for Southern Berkshire, Central Middlesex, Western Essex, Eastern Hampshire, Eastern Hampden, Southern Worcester, Western Norfolk, Southeast Middlesex, Northern Bristol, and Western Plymouth counties.

LIKELY SNOW AMOUNTS

Boston will see little to no snow. The MetroWest into northeastern Massachusetts could see up to an inch.

“I just think it’s a little too mild,” Spear said of those areas. “As we go beyond 128, it starts getting a little cooler.”

The Greater Worcester area could see 1-3 inches of snow, Lowell could get 3 inches, and the Nashua, New Hampshire, area could get up to 6 inches.

Parts of Massachusetts where a winter storm warning is in effect, including north and west of Fitchburg and up into New Hampshire’s mountainous region, could see 6-12 inches of snow.

“This is going to be a big storm in the mountains, everybody,” Spear said.

Southeastern Massachusetts will see plain rain.

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.