Weekend Insights: Mountain Snow, Gusty Winds, and Thanksgiving Storm Watch

As we move into the weekend, New England’s weather offers a mix of mountain snow, blustery winds, and lingering rain showers before a quieter start to next week. However, the big question looms—what will Thanksgiving’s storm chances bring? Matt Noyes breaks it all down in our Insights video – written summary below.

Rain and Snow Recap

Our ongoing storm is delivering much-needed precipitation to New England, with over two inches of rain in parts of western Massachusetts and over an inch across much of southern New England. Farther west, heavy snow blanketed parts of upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania, with some locations reporting over a foot of accumulation.

For New England, the snow story is just beginning. Colder air filtering in Friday night and Saturday will flip rain showers to snow showers in western reaches, Northern New England and higher-elevation areas, adding to summit accumulations over the weekend.

Saturday: Rain, Snow, Some Drying and Raw, Blustery Weather

• Rain to Snow Transition: Northern New England’s mountains, including the Greens, Whites, and northwestern Maine, will see steady snow showers throughout Saturday with heavier bursts in favored northwest-facing slopes, even continuing in those spots off and on into early Sunday.
• Accumulations:
  • Higher summits, like Jay Peak, Stowe, and Wildcat, could see 4-10 inches of snow by the end of the weekend.
  • Lower elevations will likely see just a coating to an inch with significant dependence on elevation.
• Blustery Winds: A northwest wind will gust 30-35 mph for all of us, adding a wind chill in the 20s and 30s to the already raw conditions.

Sunday: Winds Persist, Snow Showers Linger in the North

The wind doesn’t ease much on Sunday, with gusts still reaching 30-35 mph across the region. Snow showers may persist in favored mountain locations, while the rest of New England stays dry but chilly. Highs will struggle to reach 50°F in southern areas, while northern regions remain in the 40s in valleys, colder in the mountains.

Looking Ahead: Next Week and Thanksgiving Storm Possibilities

With new storms coming into the U.S. off the Pacific, we keep pumping energy and moisture into the nation’s weather pattern, and this results in a more active weather pattern here in New England, overall. Another energetic disturbance arrives with showers Tuesday, then late next week’s storm chances hinge on how two weather systems interact—one bringing northern energy, the other southern moisture. Here are three potential scenarios:

1. Disorganized Passage: Mixed showers on Thanksgiving Day or night, with light precipitation quickly moving out.
2. Organized Southern Track: A more robust system tracks south of New England, keeping us on the northern side of the storm for a relatively light but steady dose of mixed rain and snow in Southern New England.
3. Slower, Stronger Solution: A deeper storm system brings rain to southern New England and snow to the mountains, with Thanksgiving night into Friday being the focus.

The most likely solution, given the climatological setup, is a mix of rain for southern New England and snow for northern areas. However, it’s still early, and changes in jet stream alignment could significantly impact the storm’s evolution.

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