Showers and flurries this week, but will we have snow on Christmas?

We had a little taste of true winter in southwestern New England on Monday morning as a quick moving system passed south of us. Temperatures were cold enough to support 1-2 inches of snow in parts of western Massachusetts and Connecticut and a coating of snow in northern Rhode Island.  

Even though it was cold enough for some snow, it wasn’t as cold as on this date in 1835. New England has one of the coldest days on record, with Boston at -4 at noontime, then falling to -12 by sunset. Norfolk, Connecticut, was only -15, while Hanover, New Hampshire, was at -17. 

As our temperatures warm up a bit on Monday, we keep a shower chance in, but are no longer expecting icy spots later in the day, as highs reach the upper 30s and 40s. The cold air is more stubborn in the valleys, so only there is where we might find some lingering icy roads. 

Overnight, a surge of warmth kicks up our temps to the 40s and 50s south on a gusty south wind. Scattered rain moves through overnight and into the Tuesday morning commute. The showers move out by midday as a west wind keeps us in the 40s and 50s for highs on a westerly breeze. 

The milder temperatures and dry afternoons will make for decent conditions to keep hanging those holiday lights. 

As temperatures slowly drop into the 40s again for midweek, we expect rain in Boston and for areas south of the Massachusetts Turnpike for Wednesday night into Thursday. Northern New England will see light snowfall, with another elevation-driven storm. 

Arctic air spills in across the northeast after Friday as we drop to highs around freezing, then 20s on Saturday and teens for some on Sunday. We dry off during this timeframe leading up to Christmas. Temperatures stay cool in the 30s, with no significant signal for Christmas snow in the forecast... for now.