Spring begins Tuesday, but winter isn’t ready to retire just yet.
A low-pressure system moving across the Southeast on Sunday and Monday is expected to develop into yet another nor’easter beginning Tuesday, according to CNN meteorologist Jenn Varian. This incoming storm, which will bring rain and snow across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, will be the fourth storm to ravage the East Coast in three weeks.
The system is still far enough out that models are still highly uncertain of the exact location of the storm, Varian said.
“If the storm remains too far east off of the coast, then it will not reach Boston/other New England coastal cities,” Varian said. “Snowfall accumulations at this time are with very low confidence.”
For now, the storm is looking to directly impact the mid-Atlantic, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said. Washington is expected to get 4 to 6 inches of snow starting Tuesday, while southern New England is forecast to get 2 to 4 inches.
The National Weather Service said the storm could bring accumulating snow to coastal Massachusetts on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, along with wind gusts as high as 50 mph. The weather service also said the eastern coast of Massachusetts may be vulnerable to flooding early Thursday morning. Tides in Boston are forecast around 10.5 feet, Brink said.
New England is still reeling from last week’s storm, which the weather service declared a blizzard. Before that, a storm dropped heavy, wet snow in areas west of Interstate 95 and left one person dead in New York state.
On March 2, a nor’easter that morphed into a “bomb cyclone” slammed much of the Northeast with heavy snow and rain, hurricane-force wind gusts and significant coastal flooding. The storm left six people dead from falling trees, and about 900,000 people lost power.
Nor’easters aren’t uncommon for New England during this time of year, Varian said. They can occur any time of year, but they’re strongest from September to April.