A fast-moving low-pressure system barreling into Massachusetts on Thursday is expected to bring a mess of wintry conditions, including up to 4 inches of snow, snarling traffic and forcing the closure of numerous schools across the state.
Snow arrives between 6 and 10 a.m. Thursday and will fall for most of the morning. Given cold temperatures, National Weather Service forecasters say flakes could accumulate quickly with moderate to heavy snowfall expected.
Forecasters expect most of the state to see between 2 and 4 inches of snow, with 3 inches projected to fall in Boston, between 3 and 4 inches forecasted for Worcester and 2 to 3 inches predicted for Springfield.
As the day progresses, warmer air is expected to move in over the state, bringing sleet and freezing rain south of the Massachusetts Turnpike in the early afternoon. Areas north of the highway should see a period of sleet and freezing rain in the afternoon commute.
Around that time, areas around the South Coast should see “plain rain,” forecasters wrote.
The storm’s impacts should come to a stop around 7 p.m., the same time a Winter Weather Advisory issued for the state expires. The advisory, which blankets the entire state minus a part of Cape Cod, warns of slippery conditions on the road during the storm.
“Hazardous conditions could impact the Thursday morning and evening commutes,” forecasters wrote.
Conditions should improve Thursday night, giving way to a largely dry Friday.
