Kelley Peace, of Peace and Paws, walks a group of dogs through the Public Garden on Thursday. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Will there be a run on bread and milk in the coming days?
For the first time in what feels like forever, there’s actually a good chance for a “significant major winter storm” to blast the Bay State early next week, just as February comes to an end.
Meteorologists will be keeping a close eye on the forecast models that show a substantial storm impacting the region from Monday night to Tuesday night.
“There is high potential for a significant major winter storm that could get underway Monday night,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Bob Larson told the Herald on Thursday.
“It looks like it will be cold enough for mostly snow with this storm,” he added. “It’s much too early to talk about specific snowfall amounts but suffice it to say, there is high potential for heavy snowfall.”
The National Weather Service forecast shows a low-pressure system tracking south of New England, likely bringing snow and/or a wintry mix Monday night into Tuesday.
“It’s still too early to tell how much,” said Alan Dunham, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office.
By Saturday, forecasters might be able to start offering up a preliminary snowfall range.
The forecast models are in relatively good agreement on the storm’s timing and that most of the precipitation would be snow, the AccuWeather meteorologist said.
“We’re going to have a lot to talk about in the days to come,” Larson said.
It has been a remarkably mild winter with well below normal snowfall for the Boston-area. But there was that brief arctic blast of record-cold temps earlier this month.
“Overall it’s been very mild, but you can still get cold outbreaks and big snowstorms even in a mild winter,” Larson said.
Some parts of Massachusetts on Thursday saw close to 6 inches of snow, as a wintry mix made things slick on the roadways.
As of Thursday afternoon, the highest snowfall totals were recorded in northeastern Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service: Haverhill, 5.8 inches; Newburyport, 5.8 inches; Amesbury, 5.3 inches; North Andover, 5 inches; Ipswich, 5 inches; and Topsfield, 5 inches.
Another round of an icy mix was expected later Thursday and overnight, likely leading to a slow commute for Friday morning.
Then an arctic front will blast through the area on Friday, with falling temperatures and wind chills below zero Friday night. Gusty winds could lead to some power outages in western Massachusetts.
Cold temps are expected to linger into Saturday with high temps in the 20s, then not as cold on Sunday with temps in the 30s.
Ahead of the potential snow Monday night into Tuesday, the calm before the storm during the day on Monday should be sunny in the 30s.
