UPDATE 5:30pm 1/15/23: A significant ice storm is possible in Maine, click here for an updated forecast. Snowfall amounts across southern New England has not changed since this post.
An expected nor'easter has developed off the coast of North Carolina and is now expected to begin moving toward New England while staying offshore. While the storm will stay well offshore, it will still be close enough to bring high winds to Cape Cod, as well as dump a few inches of snow. In Maine, the storm will dump a mixed bag of precipitation.
Starting in Massachusetts, the storm will likely bring 2-3 inches of snow to the south shore, with a spot 4-5 inches near the Cape Cod Canal. A winter weather advisory has been posted for the south shore and Cape Cod, which is in effect through Monday morning. The outer Cape, while inside the advisory, is not expected to reach advisory level snow totals, as this event will likely be a mixing and rain event.
Wind will be another issue for the south shore. Gusts up to 50mph are possible on Cape Cod and the islands. A wind advisory is in effect for this area until late tonight. The strongest winds are expected to occur this afternoon and evening.
There is expected to be a sharp cutoff in precipitation to the west. Light snow is possible all the way to Worcester, but the accumulations will be very little to none until you make it to the south shore.
Moving up the coast, Boston, the north shore and the seacoast of New Hampshire is likely to see 1-2 inches of snow. A winter weather advisory is currently NOT in effect for the New Hampshire seacoast at this time, but that could change as the advisory in Maine has been expanding westward throughout last night.
SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS
Moving into Maine, things start to get more complex. The dominant precipitation type is not expected to be snow. The NWS states:
"Warm air advection continues tonight as a baroclinic zone (a region in which a temperature gradient exists on a constant pressure surface) westward towards the Gulf of Maine. Precipitation will expand into western Maine with time with the precipitation type transitioning to sleet and freezing rain over southern areas. This will be a slow moving system and as the atmosphere continues to warm over the region, sleet and freezing rain will mix in over central and northern areas on Monday. Gusty northerly winds will continue across the region."
A winter weather advisory is in effect for much of western Maine. All precipitation types are expected to fall in this area, but none are expected to accumulate to a significant amount.
In eastern Maine, 3-5 inches of snow and sleet are expected along with up to a quarter of an inch of ice, with the possibility of as much as four tenths of an inch of ice. The biggest concern in this area is the ice accumulation. If four tenths of an inch of ice accumulates, tree damage and power outages are possible. Gusty winds will exacerbate the situation.
ICE ACCUMULATIONS
A winter storm warning is in effect for eastern Maine, mainly for the potential ice storm. This warning is in effect from this afternoon until early Tuesday morning.
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