Winter Snow Storm Headed to Boston, Southern New England

A winter snow storm is headed to Boston and southern New England, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter storm watch will be in effect from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon for Boston and much of Southern New England, the NWS forecasted Tuesday, with western and central Massachusetts expected to be the hardest-hit areas.

Snow is currently expected to overspread southern New England Wednesday afternoon and transition to a wintry mix Wednesday evening,'' the NWS told the Boston Globe on Tuesday. The heaviest precipitation should occur from late Wednesday into Thursday morning.''

The Boston Globe reported that eastern Massachusetts is bracing for what the NWS expects to be more than three inches of snow and ice.

The NWS went into further detail about the potential impacts of the blizzard on the southern New England region:

Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, it predicts, as well as snow accumulation of 4 to 12 inches possible, along with a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice and ... temperatures [in the] mid 20s to mid 30s.

This year has seen one of the least-snowy seasons throughout most of the nation in recent memory, so this relatively modest New England winter snow storm has a good chance of being the year's largest. New Englanders and Boston residents who may have thought they would avoid any real snow this year had better get out the ice scrapers, snow shovels and boots.

Meanwhile, a Midwest winter snow storm is forecast to bury northern states in as much as a foot of snow, in a a blizzard weather forecasters are saying may be the season's worst.

The heaviest snow is exepected to blanket southeast North Dakota and northeast South Dakota, according to the Associated Press, which said the storm might be the worst of the winter.

The National Weather Service reported Tuesday that most of both Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin are under a winter weather or blizzard warning that will last through Wednesday, and freezing rain is expected between southeast South Dakota and southern Minnesota and going east into southern Michigan.

A major winter storm with heavy snow and strong winds is expected to impact the North-Central U.S. on Tuesday. The same system will bring bring wintry weather to much of the Northeastern states by Wednesday afternoon, the NWS reported. Severe weather is expected over the central plains and lower Mississippi Valley for Tuesday. A strong upper trough moving into the West Coast will bring significant snowfall across local mountains.