Over the upcoming weekend, a low-pressure system could rapidly strengthen off the coast of New England, producing a potential snowstorm.
As of Thursday morning, the outlooks have the best odds for accumulating snowfall across northern Massachusetts and New York state, as well as most of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Other areas in the I-95 corridor such as New York City, Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston will see either light snowfall, a snow-rain mix or only rain. However, only a slight eastward shift in the storm track would increase the chances for snowfall impacting these cities.
This potential storm is currently located over the central Plains but will move toward New England over the next couple of days. The timing of this storm looks to be Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. Moderate to heavy snowfall and gusty winds will create hazardous travel for 24 to 48 hours across the region.
Exact snow totals are uncertain at this time, but widespread totals in excess of 6 inches are possible. Wind gusts could reach 30 to 50 mph during the storm and for several hours after snowfall fades, resulting in periods of whiteout conditions.
At this time, it looks like the snow and wind will affect mostly low-population areas and low-volume freight markets. This is evident in the FreightWaves SONAR map above which shows the Outbound Tender Volume Index. New England markets in the storm’s impact zone are shaded in white and light blue, indicating low outbound volumes of freight. Overall impacts on local and regional supply chains should be minor to moderate.