Could Massachusetts get hit with a blizzard this weekend? Here's what the forecast says.
As we tick towards the end of what will be an all-time, record setting, top-ten snowstorm for Boston, it is awfully hard to ignore what may be coming next for Massachusetts.
It was about this time last week that we alerted you to the potential of a major snowstorm for the upcoming weekend. Well, here we go again. Anyone else getting 2014-2015 vibes yet?
First, the good news. It is early. The next storm is about 5-6 days away from making any potential impacts in New England.
Monitoring next potential winter storm
Absolutely nothing is locked in or inevitable for New England at this point. Over the next few days, we will be watching model trends and presenting various scenarios for the upcoming weekend.
The storm is actually still several days away from even forming. It is currently nothing but several scattered pieces of energy strewn from the Pacific Ocean up into Canada.
For the "perfect storm" to come together, all the pieces have to fit together just right, like a complex jigsaw puzzle.
The setup has some similarities to last week
We will have another massive area of high pressure descending down into the middle of the country from Canada, bringing another round of Arctic cold.
The storm will form in the Gulf of Mexico and will once again be loaded with moisture.
We will see rapid storm development, perhaps even bombogenesis, occur just off the southeastern U.S. Coastline late Friday and during Saturday.
3 possible storm tracks
At this juncture, we still have several possible tracks and scenarios, all of which have about the same likelihood.
- A classic nor'easter track for southern New England with the center of the storm passing near or inside of the 40N/70W "benchmark." The impacts of this would be massive.
- A track just outside the benchmark, leading to our area being fringed, bringing moderate-level impacts.
- It still could completely miss our area and head well south and out to sea.
Destructive blizzard possible
Having said all that, the stakes with this storm are enormous. The potential impacts from this one FAR exceed the storm that just passed. How can I say that when we just got 2 feet of snow in some areas?
This next storm is likely to be a much more powerful low-pressure area undergoing a rapid deepening as it rides up the east coast.
Under a worst-case scenario, not only would we see massive amounts of snow (again) in some areas, but this time is would be accompanied by raging, destructive, northeast winds - a true blizzard.
On top of that, we have a full moon this weekend and our tides will be at very high astronomical levels. This puts our entire coastline at risk of major coastal flooding, something we have not seen in several years.
Everything is on the table with this one.
Not too early to prepare
It is not too early to take some action. I realize everyone is likely tired from the snow cleanup. However, over the next few days, it would be prudent to start preparing just in case we get another major blow next weekend.
Clear out any house vents and consider clearing your roof if possible (use extreme caution).
Also, think about what another foot or two of snow would look like and where you would put it. Clear out your walkways, mailbox and any other areas that need access, making room for more snow.
Again, all this is simply precautionary. This is not a forecast yet.
Our WBZ NEXT Weather Team has you covered. We will provide frequent updates all week on WBZ-TV and WBZ.com. When we know, you know.