Good morning everyone! We’re currently looking at crystal clear skies across New England, as high pressure continues to move across the region. Temperatures are down right frigid this Saturday morning, with plenty of resorts below freezing. As the day progresses, temperatures will rise, but not by much. Highs around the resorts will only get into the teens; coupled with decent winds, it’s going to be very cold on the slopes today folks. Make sure you dress accordingly, here’s the temperature forecast for today: 

Image from Tropicaltidbits

Conditions are good-fair for most resorts, but some fresh powder is on the way. Sunday is shaping up to be a powder day across New England (and just in time for the Super Bowl!). Here’s the specifics on the storm:

• Scattered snow showers will begin to move in from the east early Sunday morning. Snowfall will be “on and off” at this point, but over time the snow will become more steady.
• By the afternoon, resorts in NH, VT, and ME should have consistent snowfall, with a few inches already on the ground by that point. The majority of this new snowfall will be in the afternoon, so if you have a late start to tomorrow, don’t worry because conditions will be the best toward the end of the ski day.
• One tricky piece about this story will be the rain-snow line toward the evening hours. Everywhere south of the MA-NH border will receive mostly rain from this system. Toward the end of the day, that line between rain and snow will slowly creep up north. Some of the southern resorts in NH and VT could see some sleet at the end of the storm, but nothing significant to really impact the new snowfall. Most resorts will be closed by that time anyways, so it’s more of an issue for Monday. We’ll be able to tell you how that impacted resorts on our Monday forecast.
• When all is said and done, expect the Greens to receive 4”-6”, the Whites 4”-6”, and the Sunday River area 3”-5”.

Here is the model run for the storm, and the predicted snow totals for the region:

Image from Tropicaltidbits

High pressure will make a brief appearance on Tuesday, but with a system approaching to the west, skies will be mostly cloudy across the region. Temperatures will be in the upper 20’s, not nearly as cold as we have seen this weekend. With the increasing likeliness for snowfall this weekend, next week will be a great opportunity to get on the slopes. However, the bigger story is the potential for more significant snowfall to come with this approaching storm, great news for the mountains after a period of drought.

Snow showers will likely begin to stream in overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, becoming heavier throughout the day Wednesday. The rain/snow line will be oriented southwest-northeast, meaning most of southern New England won’t receive much of anything in the way of snow. As of now, northern Massachusetts is right on this line, but much is subject to change in terms of distribution and type of precipitation.

The snow will likely taper off in the early hours of Thursday morning, completely clear by the morning and early afternoon on Thursday. Colder air will follow in its wake, but will quickly be dominated by another ridge of high pressure edging its way into the Northeast; Highs will only be in the low to mid 20’s.

Overall, the foreseeable future looks to have great snow-making potential, and even with the details still up in the air, temperatures will continue to drop below freezing overnight if artificial snow-making is necessary.

Check in on Monday for a full report on the details of the impacts of Sunday’s storm on the resorts. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the Superbowl!

Christopher Hohman, Plymouth State Student Meteorologist

Julia Moreland, Plymouth State Student Meteorologist