Storm to spare most of Eastern Mass.; could dump 10 inches in areas of Central, Western Mass.

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

A winter storm may dump as much as 10 inches of snow in northern sections of the Bay State late Tuesday night through Wednesday night, the National Weather Service said this afternoon.

But the storm isn’t expected to drop much snow along the coast and in much of the eastern portion of the state. Most of the area inside Interstate 495 is expected to get less than an inch.

The snow is expected to change to rain to the south and east, but it will remain mostly snow across northern sections and the eastern slopes of the Berkshires.

A weather service snowfall forecast map showed 6 to 8 inches of snow falling in some areas of northern Central Massachusetts and 8 to 10 inches in northern Western Massachusetts.

The snow that does fall will likely be the same heavy, wet stuff as the snow that fell this weekend, forecasters said, warning of possible power outages. Issuing winter storm watches for areas in Central and Western Massachusetts, the forecasters also warned that the snow could affect both Wednesday rush hours and even the Thursday morning commute.

The storm arrives on the heels of the weekend’s slushy storm, which depending on your location, was either a boom or a bust. Snow totals weren’t impressive in Eastern Massachusetts but they increased as you headed towards the north and west. Ten inches fell in Boylston, 9.1 inches in Sterling, 8.1 inches at the Worcester Regional Airport, and 7 inches in Pepperell.

Closer to the coast, 1.8 inches of snow fell at Logan International Airport, 1.6 inches in Taunton, and 1 inch in New Bedford, according to weather service spotter reports.

Before the storm hits, Tuesday will be a fairly nice day, with skies clearing, highs in the low 40s, and light winds.

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