December 22, 2022 By Meteorologist Michael Page
A powerful storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds to the South Shore just days before Christmas, snarling travel across much of the country.
The storm will begin to impact New England late Thursday. Rain will arrive from the south at night, continuing to fall heavily at times through much of Friday.
The rain will taper off during the afternoon on Friday, after totaling 1-2”.
During this time, powerful southeasterly winds will blow. Expect gusts to reach 45-55 MPH on the South Shore, resulting in possible power outages.
Keep that in mind if you’re planning to shop or cook on Friday. It may be prudent to take care of those chores prior to the storm, to the extent possible, to limit impacts if outages linger.
Skies will clear on Saturday, but it will stay breezy and temperatures will drop dramatically.
Highs on Friday will pop into the 50s, but by Saturday we’ll be in the teens and 20s during the day!
If you are trying to fly this week, keep in mind that this storm will impact many of the nation’s largest airports, from Chicago to Washington and then of course up here into the Northeast.
This will mean delays of flight disruptions.
Flying out Wednesday or Thursday would be best. The worst day to fly would be Friday. Even Saturday, though the weather improves, may be challenging as airlines try to get back on track.
Traveling on the roads will be worst Thursday night into mid afternoon Friday. If you delay your travel until Saturday, just keep in mind there may be some slick spots during the morning with the quick drop in temperature.
It’s also worth noting that while this is a rain and wind storm in Southern New England, parts of Northern New England will be contending with a wintry mix, so use caution if traveling to ski country.