Weather Service: Weekend storm could bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to Southern New England
The local office of the National Weather Service is taking a potential weekend storm seriously enough to post a special message about it at the top of its forecasting page for Providence.
"There is the potential for a coastal storm to bring heavy snowfall and high winds to portions of the area late Friday night into Saturday night," the Weather Service says in its Hazardous Weather Outlook. "Uncertainties remain with the track and intensity of the coastal storm and its resulting potential impacts."
Nevertheless, several computer models show the storm riding just off the coast and dropping "a swath of 8 to 12 inches of snow somewhere in southern New England," the Weather Service says in its forecast discussion.
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The storm would also deliver strong winds and could cause coastal flooding because of astronomically high tides, according to the Weather Service.
The storm was off Alaska Monday, and forecasters expect it to move across the country, dipping south with the jet stream, pick up energy off the Carolina coast and move north.
AccuWeather says, "There is every indication that a storm will develop and strengthen off the southern Atlantic coast late this week. The storm could intensify enough from Friday to Saturday to be classified as a bomb cyclone as it moves northward toward New England."
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"A bomb cyclone, or bombogenesis, occurs when the central pressure of a storm crashes by 0.71 of an inch (24 millibars) or greater within 24 hours. When the pressure plummets, winds rush in toward the center of the storm at a faster pace," AccuWeather says. "The winds can carry a great deal of moisture with them and unleash that in the form of copious amounts of precipitation. If the air is cold enough, heavy snow and blizzard conditions can unfold."
AccuWeather says, "At least part of New England is likely to have a major snowfall by way of a powerful nor'easter, but AccuWeather forecasters are still closely monitoring the storm's potential path and how close it will hug the coast."
jperry@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Weekend storm could bring heavy snow, wind, coastal flooding to RI
