After a week of well below normal cold, some relief is on the way for residents of Massachusetts, with temperatures expected to reach the low 30s for the first time in more than a week.
Forecasters expect Boston, Worcester and Springfield to hit 31 on Tuesday. Before Tuesday, Boston and Springfield last cleared that benchmark on Jan. 23 and Worcester last cleared it on Jan. 22.
Still, temperatures this week will remain below normal for February, with the average temperature for the month typically in the mid-30s.
The weather service issued a Coastal Flood Advisory late Sunday for the state’s coastline and much of Cape Cod, warning of rough surf and minor flooding. A Coastal Flood statement is also in place for Southeastern Massachusetts.
The rough surf is expected to give way to a “generally tranquil period through the workweek,” forecasters wrote.
But the weather pattern turns more active late Friday into Saturday, and especially into the weekend.
A clipper system could bring some accumulating snow late Friday, giving way to a period of gusting winds and deep Arctic air that is likely to bring dangerous wind chills this weekend, the weather service said.
The “coldest air thus far this winter” is likely to reach the Bay State this weekend, forecasters wrote, adding, “We’ve had Arctic outbreaks with periods of low wind chills in the recent past, but the modeled temperatures are a different level of frigid air.”
Though details remain unclear, forecasters have “somewhat higher confidence” of dangerously cold wind chills Saturday and Sunday, with freezing spray and gale-force, or stronger, winds over the water. It’s less certain, however, if any ocean effect bands of snow will form for the eastern coast.
While the extreme cold appears to be “especially harsh,” forecasters wrote, it’s not expected to last very long, with multiple models indicating a pattern change for early next week.
