Tracking the Timing and Impact of Friday's Storm in Boston

The storm brewing late this week has everyone’s attention, but there's lots of quiet in the forecast until then.

We’re seeing tons of sun in the next two days, along with light winds and seasonable temperatures.

OK, that’s enough about that.

Headlines in other parts of the country touting, “The coldest Christmas in 40 years!” aren’t wrong. This extreme cold will push all the way into South Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico. For those locations (New Orleans in the 30s for three days), this is record-setting, bitter cold. For us, the shot of Christmas cold will be noteworthy, but not worthy of records.

But that comes after the storm. During the storm, we’re expecting heavy rain, high winds, coastal flooding during Friday morning's high tide and a wild switch up in temperatures.

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No white Christmas for Boston this year. Lots of wind and rain on the Friday before though. Blizzard setting up in the Midwest. Here we will see southeast gusts over 50 mph, and some coastal flooding for the Friday tides. Stay tuned for more details this week. pic.twitter.com/4LrJvQTtME

— Pamela Gardner NBC10 Boston (@Pamelanbcboston) December 19, 2022

Strong winds could cause flight delays, power outages

It all gets rolling in the evening Thursday. As the storm moves in, the rain gets more intense by Friday morning. Certainly, any travel on Friday will be difficult, but flights will be most impacted: delayed – or canceled – from the high winds and driving rain.

Right now, the strongest winds seem to come at the time the front comes through, between 3 and 8 p.m. on Friday. In that time, the gusts could be as high as 60 mph, enough for some power outages and wind damage.

Colder air moves in, flash freeze could cause slick roads

After that, the winds will switch around and the cold will rush in. With highs soaring into the upper 50s late Friday, we’ll be sitting in the mild air for several hours. That aforementioned wind shift will signal the arrival of the colder air, and given the speed of this weather system, temps will crash back to the upper 20s in hours. This could cause a flash freeze situation across the area, so beware of slick roads in spots – especially the higher terrain of the Worcester Hills.

Coastal flooding possible Friday in Boston?

Astronomically high tide will occur in the morning Friday, and thanks to the strong south/southeast winds, there may be some minor to moderate coastal flooding. Friday night’s high tide isn’t as high, so the threat isn’t as great.

Lots of fine-tuning of the timing, intensity of the wind, and the amount of rain in the coming days. Stay with us through the week.