Massachusetts residents should savor the mild weather on Thursday, as an arctic cold front is set to hit the region over the weekend, followed by a “significant” storm on Sunday that could drop a foot of snow on the region.
Overnight snow has ceased across the state, and Thursday will give way to sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s in some places. Boston and Cape Cod & the Islands will hit a high of 42 degrees, Worcester and Springfield will be around 40 degrees and the Berkshires will be in the mid 30s.
Temperatures in Central and Western Massachusetts will drop into the teens overnight, while Boston will go as low as 23 degrees.
Friday will bring cold temperatures and high winds, with lows in the single digits across the state and gusts of 30 to 40 mph pushing the wind chill below zero. Saturday will be even colder; high temperatures won’t get above the mid teens in most of the state, and the Berkshires will top out at 4 degrees.
The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Cold Watch for Berkshire County from 7 p.m. Friday to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Temperatures will tick up on Sunday, but the big story is the snowstorm that looks like it’s going to blanket the state. Snowfall is forecast to begin Sunday morning and could go for 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
National Weather Service computer models project there is a 90-percent chance the southeastern part of Massachusetts gets 6 inches or more, while there is a 60 to 70 percent chance of 6 inches in the northwestern regions.
On the high end, the computers project there is a 60- to 70-percent chance the northeast areas receive more than a foot of snow, with a 30- to 40-percent chance for the rest of the state.
