Snow? It’s back in the forecast

Old Man Winter just doesn’t want to leave quite yet.

Of course just as the season’s calendar officially flips to spring, some snow could be on the way to parts of the region this weekend.

Welcome to late March in New England.

Before a deluge of heavy rainfall on Saturday, local meteorologists are predicting that some accumulating snow will be possible across northern Massachusetts late on Friday night before changing to rain.

“With cold air initially in place, expect precip to begin as snow, especially across northern MA where minor accums expected before changing to rain by Sat morning,” the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion reads for NWS

Boston.

“In the coastal plain, a brief period of snow is possible at the onset but not expecting any accum here,” the forecast discussion adds.

After the snow, the focus will shift to heavy rainfall throughout the day on Saturday.

“It will be pretty wet on Saturday,” NWS meteorologist Kristie Smith told the Herald. “There could be 1 to 2 inches of rain.”

Some of the heaviest rain is expected near the coast.

There’s a low risk that the rain could end as a period of snow or freezing rain, but any wintry precipitation would likely be brief.

Before the weekend weather, it’s expected to be quite cold on Thursday with strong gusty winds up to 40 mph. Much of the area will be in the 30s during the afternoon, while it will feel 10 to 15 degrees colder with the strong westerly winds.

“Winter taking revenge,” Smith said, with it feeling around 20 degrees on Thursday.

Meanwhile, ski resorts in northern New England could benefit from the weekend storm. AccuWeather’s snow prediction for northern New England is 6 to 12 inches, with a chance for 18 inches from central Vermont to central Maine.