AFDBOX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA 621 PM EST Fri Jan 2 2026 .WHAT HAS CHANGED... More guidance has begun to show a chance for mixed precipitation/freezing rain Tuesday night into Wednesday. && .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry start to weekend followed by light snow possible Sunday. - Chance for snow and a period of mixed precipitation Tuesday night into Wednesday of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Key Message 1...Dry start to weekend followed by light snow possible Sunday. A persistence forecast when it comes to precipitation chances headed into the weekend as high pressure continues to build into the region. This further slackens the pressure gradient into the weekend which will allow today`s breezy winds to come to an end leaving a calm day on Saturday. Not seeing a big change in the temperature of the airmass overhead either with a brought mid level trough remaining overhead as 925 mb temps hover around -10C; thus, highs should be similar to today in the 20s to near 30F. The only chance of precip over the weekend comes on Sunday as we thread the needle between a stronger system passing well to our south and a weak disturbance passing from upstate New York. There`s not a whole lot of moisture (PWATs 0.25-0.35), minimal forcing, and negligible omega in the snow growth region. All together we may squeeze out a coating to half inch of snow, largely during the pre-dawn hours. Ensemble guidance indicates essentially no chance of accumulating >1 inch of snow. KEY MESSAGE 2... Chance for snow and a period of mixed precipitation Tuesday night into Wednesday of next week. Guidance continues to hone in on a period of mixed precipitation for Tuesday night into Wednesday. A sharp temperature gradient will likely exist just to the SW of the CWA starting early next week. This boundary will be very slow to move northward until midweek next week as a more robust disturbance moves in from the Great Lakes. This disturbance likely pushes the aforementioned boundary north as a warm front late Tuesday night into Wednesday. While details are difficult to iron out this far ahead of any potential precipitation, model soundings show a pronounced warm nose developing later Tuesday night with 850s increasing to +3-5C. Forecast weak flow at the surface would act to keep low level cold air in place and so we could be dealing with mixed precipitation and or freezing rain issues. NBM shows that the greatest chance for this would be in the CT river valley and much of northern Massachusetts. && .AVIATION /00Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Forecaster Confidence Levels... Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Through Saturday...High confidence. VFR. Gusty W winds over the Cape, Islands, and eastern coast should diminish a bit overnight before picking back up again in the mid morning hours into the afternoon tomorrow. Sustained W winds 5-10 kt through the night. Saturday Night...High confidence. Mainly VFR becoming MVFR towards Sunday morning. Winds become light and variable. KBOS Terminal...High confidence in TAF. KBDL Terminal...High confidence in TAF. Outlook /Sunday through Wednesday/... Sunday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Breezy. Slight chance SN. Sunday Night: VFR. Breezy. Monday: VFR. Monday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Slight chance SN. Tuesday: Mainly VFR, with areas MVFR possible. Chance FZRA, slight chance RA, slight chance SN. Tuesday Night: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Chance RA, chance FZRA. Wednesday: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Slight chance RA, chance FZRA. && .MARINE... Forecaster Confidence Levels... Low - less than 30 percent. Moderate - 30 to 60 percent. High - greater than 60 percent. Tonight...High Confidence. Winds diminish this evening and Small Craft Advisories continue across the outer waters overnight. Wind gusts will continue 20-25 kts. Threat for light freezing spray for the waters overnight into early Saturday. Saturday and Saturday night... W/NW winds 15-20 kts. Gusts 20-25 kts are possible early Saturday for the eastern waters. Seas 3-4 ft. Outlook /Sunday through Wednesday/... Sunday: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of snow. Sunday Night: Low risk for Small Craft Advisory winds with gusts up to 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching 5 ft. Slight chance of snow. Monday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Monday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Slight chance of snow. Tuesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft. Slight chance of rain. Tuesday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain. Wednesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Slight chance of rain. && .BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. MA...None. RI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 10 AM EST Saturday for ANZ250-254. Small Craft Advisory until 1 PM EST Saturday for ANZ255-256. && $$