Compiled by The Bedford Citizen
UPDATE: Sunday morning’s NWS forecast increases the probability of a White Christmas for Bedford!
With time for the winds to change the forecast, the National Weather Service (NWS) is predicting a mixture of snow, ice, freezing rain, and rain to impact Massachusetts starting Friday morning and extending into Saturday, with a possible accumulation of 2 inches of snow in Bedford.
According to this noon’s MEMA email, “Light snow will overspread the region starting Friday morning and become steadier from late morning into the afternoon except in southeastern Massachusetts where there will be a fairly quick transition to all rain. Preliminary snowfall projections indicate that up to 3-6 inches of snow could fall by Friday evening across northern Massachusetts along the New Hampshire and Vermont borders, with snowfall amounts falling off to the south and east. Generally, 1” to 2” is expected along the Massachusetts Turnpike, and less than 1” south of the Turnpike. Snow will transition to freezing rain Friday afternoon or evening and freezing rain will continue into Saturday across the interior and possibly eastward into the Greater Boston area. There is a strong likelihood of total ice accretions of 1/10” across Massachusetts, except for the southeast portion which likely will not see any ice accumulation. However, in Berkshire County, Franklin County, and northern Hampden and Worcester Counties, ice accumulations of .25” to .50” are possible. In southeastern Massachusetts, mixed wintry precipitation will change to all rain late Friday.
“This event is still 24 hours away so changes to the forecast are likely. In particular, cold air at the surface is appearing more likely to persist into much of Saturday across the entire region. This would result in more ice accumulation with greater impacts on travel and an increased likelihood of downed tree limbs and power outages.
“Ordinarily, MEMA does not distribute Situational Awareness Statements for winter weather unless anticipated conditions trigger Warnings from the National Weather Service, or, as where, as here, travel may be particularly hazardous or significantly impacted, there may be significant impacts to pre-planned events, or there are other circumstances that warrant distribution of a Situational Awareness Statement.
“Impacts:
- Snowfall is expected to impact both morning and evening commutes on Friday along and to the north of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Except in southeastern Massachusetts, as snow transitions into freezing rain, slippery roads and hazardous travel conditions are expected to continue into Saturday, possibly as late as Saturday afternoon if freezing rain lingers. This is particularly significant given the expected increase in travel volume due to the Christmas holiday.
- Ice accumulations on tree limbs and power lines could result in isolated power outages.”
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