Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts are expected to get from 9 to 13 inches of snow, with some areas getting as much as 16 inches, the Weather Service reported Wednesday night.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A massive nor'easter rumbling up the East Coast will dump up to 16 inches of snow on Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
The Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, saying the wind will gust up to 40 mph, and travel will be treacherous with the potential for blizzard conditions and white-outs. Strong winds could knock out power, and another arctic freeze will follow the storm, according to the weather service.
"A significant winter storm will bring heavy snow, strong to damaging winds and coastal flooding Thursday into Thursday night. Exact snow amounts and precise location of the rain-snow line will be dependent on how close the storm tracks to New England," The Weather Service says in its forecast discussion.
Snow is expected to begin between 3 and 7 a.m. but is likely to begin as rain or a mix of rain and snow on the Cape and the Islands and in southeastern Massachusetts as far as the Cape Cod Canal, the Weather Service said Wednesday night. The leading edge of the snow is likely to hit the south coast between 6 and 7 a.m.
"There will be about a 6 (hour) window of very heavy snowfall from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. when snowfall rates of at least an inch or two per hour are likely," the weather service said earlier Wednesday.
The winter storm warning is in effect from 1 a.m. Thursday until 1 a.m. Friday and covers all of Rhode Island, except for Block Island, which is under a blizzard watch. Much of Massachusetts is also under a winter storm warning, with much of Southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard under a blizzard warning.
Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts are expected to get from 9 to 13 inches of snow, with some areas getting as much as 16 inches, the Weather Service reported Wednesday night.
"Travel will be very difficult to impossible," the weather service says.
Near white-outs are expected for a time Thursday, according to forecasters.
According to the weather service, "A winter storm warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency."
AccuWeather says the storm will affect areas from Florida to Maine and Atlantic Canada. The storm was already bringing snow to Florida and Georgia on Wednesday.
"The storm is projected to undergo rapid strengthening, referred to as bombogenesis," AccuWeather says. Bombogenisis is defined by how quickly the pressure within the storm plummets, according to AccuWeather. "When the barometric pressure falls at least 0.71 of an inch (24 millibars) in 24 hours, a storm has undergone bombogenesis."
AccuWeather meteorologists believe the heaviest snow and strongest winds from the storm will happen in eastern New England and part of Atlantic Canada.
For Providence, the weather service says the snow should start after 5 a.m. and dump 10 to 14 inches before winding down around 10 p.m. The high temperature should reach 26 degrees and the wind will blow from the north at 14 to 25 mph over the course of the day, with gusts up to 40 mph.
The coast, including Narragansett and Block Island, should see even stronger gusts.
"This storm is becoming a serious situation in regards to the damaging wind potential," the weather service says in its forecast discussion.
"These strong winds combined with heavy wet snow could increase power outage potential," the weather service says.
Southern New England got a brief break from the bitter cold on Wednesday. The weather service says the temperatures at Nantucket Airport reached 33 degrees.
Arctic cold will return after Thursday's storm, with the temperature plummeting to 8 degrees in Providence on Thursday night, with wind chills down to -5.
The sun returns on Friday, but the cold remains, with highs reaching only 13 degrees, wind chills down to -10 and gusty northwest winds of up to 39 mph.
The high Saturday will reach just 8 degrees in Providence and drop to -6 Saturday night, the weather service says.