What to expect this week after weekend blast
After a big chill hit Massachusetts over the weekend, meteorologists are keeping their eyes on two storm systems this week that could bring more frigid air to the region.
The first snow maker is expected to pass just to the south on Tuesday, with only snow showers predicted to affect the region.
On Thursday, a storm again is expected to pass south of the area, but after that Massachusetts could see some chillier weather. That low pressure system on Thursday is expected to pull some colder air from Canada behind it.
“For Thursday, there’s some question about how much precipitation we’ll see,” said National Weather
Service meteorologist Kristie Smith. “It depends on how far north it will track … things can always change.”
Following that second low pressure system, high temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s, which is lower than what Massachusetts has been seeing so far this winter.
This past weekend’s cold blast — with wind chills dropping to near zero for many spots Sunday morning — felt extra cold because of the mild January, Smith said. Boston’s wind chill at 5 a.m. Sunday was a nippy 2 degrees. In Westfield, the brisk northwest wind made it feel like -3 degrees.
“We’ve been hovering around 40 degrees on many days, so this cool blast with highs in the 20s and wind chills in the teens feels much chillier than we’re used to,” she said Sunday. “We’ve been getting spoiled for sure.”
Before the Thursday low pressure brings colder air behind it, the high temps for the days ahead are expected to be in the 30s.
“It should be pretty seasonable this week,” Smith said.
Though a couple periods of light snow are possible through midweek, seasonable and dry weather is expected to prevail, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
“A powerful area of low pressure near the mid-atlantic waters on Thursday may bring breezy conditions to southern parts of MA and RI, though it looks to otherwise pass harmlessly to our south,” the forecast reads. “A brief shot of much colder air then filters in for late in the week.”