Next week will be the ‘coldest period of winter so far’ for Mass., NWS says

With days of heavy rain behind us and more wet weather in the forecast, Gov. Maura Healey said that she and her administration are closely watching the situation on the ground in case all of that extra precipitation turns a normal winter weather event into an emergency.

Feet of snow fell on some regions of the state early last week and were then washed away by inches of rain that dropped Wednesday and through the start of the weekend. Some parts of the state have already seen flooding, according to the governor’s office.

“Lieutenant Governor Driscoll and I have been closely following the severe weather and flooding that communities across Massachusetts have been experiencing in recent days. Our team at MEMA is in contact with municipal leaders to identify any ongoing needs and coordinate support as communities recover. We understand the level of damage and stress this is causing to our cities and towns, and our entire administration is here to assist with needs related to public safety, utilities, transportation and more,” Healey said in a statement released Sunday.

According to the National Weather Service, a snowsquall warning issued for parts of Massachusetts to close the weekend will give way to sunny weather for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“Tomorrow is going to be much quieter,” Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service told the Herald. “But we are going to be pretty cold this week, with a few periods of wintery weather.”

Monday highs will top out near freezing under sunny skies Williams said, and that will represent the end of warming for the week.

“It pretty much gets colder after that,” he said.

Monday night temperatures will fall into the mid-20s and won’t recover past freezing the next day, Williams said.

Snow could fall in parts of the state Tuesday afternoon, according to the weather service, when an offshore storm will dust the Boston region with perhaps an inch of the white stuff while some interior regions seeing upwards of three inches. Overnight lows Tuesday will approach 22 degrees.

The sun comes out again Wednesday and Thursday, Williams said, but the light doesn’t make the days warmer than 30 degrees and overnight lows stay in the mid 20s.

Friday and Saturday could bring more snow, according to the weather service. Williams said it’s still too far out to say when the storm could start or stop or how much it might bring, but it looks like there is 50 – 50 chance of some precipitation through that 48-hour period.

Cold weather gripping the central part of the country and causing the NFL to postpone a post-season game Sunday will not directly impact Massachusetts, according to the weather service. Williams said this coming week’s cold is the “coldest period of winter seen so far this year,” but that it’s entirely seasonable.

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