Major winter storm set to impact Southern New England after a bitter cold start to the weekend

A Storm Team 10 Weather Alert is in effect as the region gears up for a one-two punch of dangerously cold wind chills, followed by our snowstorm on Sunday/Monday. It all starts this afternoon when an Arctic cold front blasts through the Northeast. This sets up a gusty west/northwest wind that ushers in the coldest air mass of the season. Winds could gust 35-45 mph at times later today, leading to plummeting temperatures. Much of the area will be in the low single digits by Saturday morning, but with the wind, it'll feel more like -10 to -20. Only minor improvements in the wind chill by Saturday afternoon, so it might feel like a balmy zero degrees. The actual ambient air temperature will be in the low and mid 10s. If Providence only warms to 15 degrees for a high temperature, Saturday will be the coldest afternoon since 2019! All of this cold air sets the stage for Sunday...our snowstorm.

There is enough data to support a fairly substantial snowfall event Sunday into Monday. The primary question leading to uncertainty in the snowfall forecast is the potential for snow to mix with sleet. Because of this, Storm Team 10's forecast remains on the conservative side, with 8-12 inches of snow at the coastline and 12-16" for interior locations. As the high-resolution weather models come in over the next 18-24 hours and do not show a threat of sleet, these totals will go up, no question. When it comes to the timing of this storm, snow moves in during the midday timeframe on Sunday, with the heaviest developing in the evening and continuing into early Monday morning. Lighter snow showers may linger across Southern New England until Monday afternoon.

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