Wintry Blast Heads to New England | WeatherBug
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Wintry Blast Heads to New England

October 30, 2020
UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal
The calendar might still read October, but for portions of New England, Old Man Winter is coming with an early trick-or-treating gift. A burst of moderate snow will have winter-lovers rejoicing today.
 
The snow is part of the same complex of storm systems that brought the icy weather to the southern Plains as well as Hurricane Zeta. Zeta has lost its tropical characteristics and merged with an approaching upper-level disturbance teaming with cold air.
 
Some of the moisture associated with Zeta will remain across New England early today, when a wave of colder air slides eastward into the region. Temperatures will plunge into the lower 30s across central New England, allowing the raindrops to change over to wet snow.
 
Accumulations won’t be much in the urban areas, where warm pavement will largely melt any snow that falls. However, if one were to venture out to the hilltowns near Worcester, Mass., Providence, R.I., and Manchester, N.H., or to western Massachusetts and southern Vermont, they might see a couple of inches of the white stuff.
 
Winter Weather Advisories stretch from northern Connecticut and southwestern Vermont to the outer suburbs of Boston and Providence. The higher elevations could see as much as 3 inches of snow, while foothills pick up around an inch. The snow will primarily be on grassy surfaces as well as those off the ground, such as railings.
 
Any snow will end by early afternoon as the moisture moves east of the region, and temperatures warm back closer to 40 degrees.
 
While the end of October is early for an accumulating snowfall across southern New England, it is certainly not unheard of. In fact, residents of western New England were clearing up to a foot of snow on October 29 and 30, 2011.