Heavy rain, strong winds coming to Massachusetts Friday. Maps show who may get hit the hardest.
A major pattern shift in the weather is coming to the Boston area. There will be a period of heavy rain and strong winds across Massachusetts Friday.
The first half of this month has been all about the cold. Fifteen of the first 16 days had below average temperatures. It's been the coldest first half of a December in Boston in 25 years.
All of that is about to change. The forecast high temperatures will be in the upper 40s around Massachusetts on Thursday. They will reach the upper 50s for the first time since November on Friday.
Unfortunately, those warm Friday temperatures are going to come along with a windswept rainfall.
A storm system currently in the Pacific Northwest is going to sweep across the country and, on its way, pick up some moisture from another system in the Gulf of Mexico.
When will it rain Friday?
The rain will arrive in the Boston area during the morning commute on Friday. Between 7 and 9 a.m., rain will overspread the entire region from west to east.
The heaviest rain will fall in the late morning through mid-afternoon hours on Friday. There will be some very heavy downpours, localized street flooding and perhaps even some embedded thunder.
The rain will move offshore between 3 and 5 p.m., making for a much drier evening commute.
Total rainfall from this system will reach between 0.5"-1.5", most likely the wettest system this month.
Wind warnings
The winds may end up being the main story and greatest impact with this storm. We expect southerly wind gusts during the day on Friday to peak between 40 and 60 miles per hour for most of central and eastern Massachusetts.
The National Weather Service has already issued a high wind watch for the Cape and Islands on Friday and may end up extending that farther inland.
We expect there to be scattered pockets of wind damage, some trees and limbs down and also some isolated power outages.
The winds will shift to the west Friday night and remain somewhat gusty through early Saturday, although well off their peak from midday Friday.
Snow washed away
Most of the current snow cover across central and southern New England will be melted and washed away over the next few days.
The mild temperatures combined with the heavy rain and strong winds, which will extend all the way up through most of northern New England, will cause our snow depth to decrease significantly.
By Saturday morning, the only snow left in southern New England will be in shady patches or parking lot piles.
The higher elevations in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine should hold on to a good amount of snow.
Wishing for a White Christmas?
There may be one last chance for snow on the ground on December 25. Models are hinting at some light snow in our area sometime around next Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll have more on that in the days ahead.