Weather

Clear start to the week, then another slushy storm due Thursday and Friday

Massachusetts will have a particularly frigid Christmas holiday—perhaps the coldest in a decade.

By Morgan Rousseau

December 18, 2022

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Bay Staters gearing up for the holidays can expect a cold but sunny start to the upcoming week, though a slushy storm is expected just before Christmas.

The National Weather Service’s Boston bureau forecasts a four-day respite from messy winter weather before a chance of rain and snow arrives on Thursday and Friday.

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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will all be mostly sunny and clear, with highs hovering around 40 degrees. Wind gusts could reach 30 mph on Monday, though winds will subside by the evening. 

Thursday has a 40 percent chance of rain and snow, with a high near 41 and precipitation expected to continue through the evening. Precipitation will continue on Friday, but it will warm up to a high of around 50. Wind gusts may reach as high as 40 mph that day.

Boston Meteorologist Dave Epstein said on Twitter that the end-of-week storm will likely lean more towards rain than snow. 

Looking ahead to Christmas weekend, AccuWeather forecasts a windy, chilly few days with the possibility of snow on Saturday, Dec. 24, and clear skies on Sunday, Dec. 25. Both next Saturday and Sunday will have highs around 28 degrees.

The holiday weekend will likely be the coldest Massachusetts has had since 2013, according to WBZ Chief Meteorologist Eric Fisher.

Polar vortex due to hit U.S. for Christmas

Massachusetts isn’t the only state bracing for extra cold temperatures this Christmas. Holiday travelers venturing outside the state can expect freezing temps in several areas of the United States, thanks to extremely cold air headed to the U.S. from Siberia.

According to AccuWeather, a polar vortex will bring a “bitter blast of cold air” that will challenge nationwide records going back to the 1980s. AccuWeather meteorologists say areas from the northern Rockies to the Southeast will get hit with frigid temps that may stress energy grids over the holiday weekend. 

The arctic blast comes on the heels of a fairly mild December for most of the nation, including New England. The incoming freeze could plunge parts of the eastern two-thirds of the country into subzero temps. Some areas in Montana and North Dakota could get temps as low as 30 degrees below zero on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to the weather outlet.

Siberia during the winter is one of the coldest places on Earth. Meteorologists say Siberians saw temperatures 78 degrees below zero earlier this week.