Windswept Snowstorm for Boston, Providence, Hartford

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

December 29,2012; 3:59PM,EST

A developing storm along the coast will crank up the wind and snow in New England during Saturday evening.
Local accumulations close to a foot are forecast from Rhode Island to interior southeastern Massachusetts as a nor'easter unfolds.
Increasing wind will cause a plastering of wet snow near the coast, but extensive blowing and drifting of dry, powdery snow inland. Where the snow clings to wires and trees, combined with the wind, there is the risk of sporadic power outages.

The latest snow map is available on AccuWeather.com's Winter Weather Center.

Expect travel conditions to deteriorate from New York City northeastward to Hartford, Providence, Boston and Portland, Maine. Flight delays are possible around New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.

There will be enough snow to shovel, plow, play in and get stuck in around Boston and Providence. (Photos.com image)

Farther south, a gap between the developing coastal storm and the old, weakening storm over the Ohio Valley will limit precipitation from New York City southwestward to Washington, D.C. However, enough snow can wrap around the developing coastal storm in part of this area to make for slippery travel late on Saturday afternoon and evening.

A wedge of warm air will bring rain and reduce the amount of potential snow moving eastward across Long Island and coastal/southern New Jersey and the Delmarva Peninsula. However, the storm could pull cold air in at the last minute this evening, allowing the rain or wintry mix to switch over to heavy snow on Long Island.
Over northern upstate New York and northwestern New England, part of the snow will come from the Ohio Valley storm and the other from the developing coastal storm. In situations like this, the heaviest snow avoids these areas. However, amounts approaching a half of a foot are possible due to local effects and brief heavier banding of the snow that develops.
Most areas from northern upstate New York to northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, northwestern Maine and neighboring Canada will tend to receive a couple of inches or less.
Farther northeast, the nor'easter will evolve into a blizzard over portions of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island by Sunday.
Painful cold winds will blast fans heading to NFL football games Sunday in Foxboro, Mass., the Meadowlands, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Winds will ease for the Sunday night game in Landover, Md. There will be a great deal of snow to remove for the game between the Patriots and the Dolphins in New England.

The latest snow map is available on AccuWeather.com's Winter Weather Center.