It’s going to be a cold night, but the moonlight on the snow will at least give a serene beauty to the frozen landscape.  This is the “cold moon” appropriately named on a night when even cities and towns at the coast are head towards and perhaps a few degrees under zero.  Temperatures this cold are more typical of mid-winter, but are not record breaking.

I’ll be updating the snow forecast as it changes on Twitter at @growingwisdom Please follow me there. Feel free to comment or ask questions too.

More snow

There will be another system affecting the area tomorrow from early afternoon and into the first part of the night.  A low pressure area will dive south from Canada and then reignite off our coast.  These types of systems can produce a few to several inches of snow and although not a big storm, this has the potential to really foul up the Tuesday afternoon commute. 

As the storm pulls away it will gain intensity.  The exact timing in the intensification will matter a lot.  Right now it appears the storm will gain strength as it passes Portland so areas east of Rockland will see the most snow.  If the storm intensifies a bit earlier, the heavier snow will move west towards Brunswick and Freeport. If the storm doesn’t intensify as quickly as predicted, then areas east of Rockland may see a few inches less than I am predicting.

How much snow?

Our computer guidance is in very good agreement on snow amounts for tomorrow with a general 3-5 inch snowfall and some 6-8 amounts possible from the mid-coast eastward. 

 

When will it start and end?

There will not be any snow tomorrow morning.  Around lunch snow will start to overspread the area from the south.  The heaviest will fall later Tuesday afternoon and the first part of Tuesday night.  The snow will end in the early morning hours of Wednesday and by dawn it will be sunny. It’s going to be cold, only in the teens so the snow, once again, will be very fluffy and light.

Cold midweek, but milder finish

The deep freeze continues into Wednesday when highs will still stay in the upper 20s to near 30F.  The good news, temperatures will warm towards the melting point Thursday along the coast, but staying colder inland and up north.  This time of the year the sun is very weak and the only way we really melt snow quickly is with a mild rain.   Friday is even milder with highs nudging 40F for some real melting, at least on driveways, walkways and south facing areas.  There could be some rain or snow on Friday as well.

The weekend

There is going to be some unsettled weather later this weekend.  I am not sure just yet where the boundary between the cold and warm air will set up, but I am leaning towards more of a rain event Boston south and a mix north and west, but it’s very early in the game.

 

Weekend garden tip The video is from a few years back, but the tips on caring for a living Christmas tree are the same. Enjoy.

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