W. Mass. temps plunge; single digits seen in Boston

By Lauren Dezenski and Martin Finucane, Globe Correspondent and Globe Staff

Todd Gutner has WBZ-TV’s afternoon weather forecast.

Hear that sound? It may be your teeth chattering.

Massachusetts is dropping into the deep freezet.

The coldest night of the season had temperatures dropping below zero in parts of the interior, the National Weather Service says.

The cold was particularly intense north of the Massachusetts Turnpike and west of I-495 with the mercury dropping to 12 below zero in colder valleys of northwestern Massachusetts and 13 below zero in southwestern New Hampshire, according to the Weather Service.

South of the Pike, lows were expected to be in the single digits. In Boston, the low temperature is expected to be about three-nine degrees.

The warmest temperatures — in the lower teens — are expected along the immediate south coast and the Cape and islands.

It was the second really cold night in a row. This morning temperatures bottomed out at one degree below zero in the Western Massachusetts town of Leverett, the weather service said.

Forecasters said Thursday night would be warmer and seasonably cold weather was expected through the weekend. After a brief period of light snow showers or flurries early Sunday, temperatures are expected to climb to above normal levels by the middle of next week. No significant storms are in sight.

WBZ-TV meteorologist Todd Gutner said he expected highs in the mid-40s by the middle of next week.

Lauren Dezenski can be reached at lauren.dezenski@globe.com