Rain, warmer temperatures expected to turn snow into mush

By Meghan E. Irons and Evan Allen, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

Rain and warming temperatures will turn mountains of snow into slush, causing a soggy morning commute Monday.

But meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Taunton, urge residents not to worry about extreme flooding, even as the region braces for a quarter to a half inch of rain into the evening Monday night.

Packs of snow clogging sidewalks and narrowing streets will absorb the rainfall, officials said. But they warned that blocked drainage areas -- not cleared by plowers -- could pose “ponding” problems as temperatures rise, and icing as the temperature falls at night.

“Tomorrow morning’s commute might be a little bit hairy in a sense that we are going to fall below freezing and then we are going to get some rain on top of that,” meteorologist Bill Simpson said. “The ground might still be frozen as we get below freezing. We are going to get some rain on top of that, so there could be some travel issues in the morning.”

Tuesday will be sunny and clear, but there is a possibility of light snow on Wednesday night.

Temperatures tonight will plummet into the mid-20s in the Boston area, dipping lower into the single digits into the suburbs, but will rise into the 40s on Monday, where they will hover throughout the week.

Late this week, Simpson said residents can expect some more showers Friday night into Saturday. And he dismissed predictions of more snow by the weekend, saying it is too early to tell.

“It will be a nice snow melt for the week,’’ Simpson said.

With rains in the forecast, officials the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency were advising residents to be mindful of large, accumulating snow buildup and snowdrifts on their roofs, and to safely remove them.

“The snow is going to act like a sponge, so the water is not going to run off,’’ said Peter Judge, spokesman for the agency. “It’s going to add to the weight of the roof, so that is where there is going to be some potential for building roof collapses, which we historically see when we have rain right after snow.”

Meghan Irons can be reached at mirons@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @meghanirons. Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com.