Tricky travel is possible as power outages, a lingering storm approaches Sunday night.

By Terry Eliasen, Meteorologist, WBZ-TV Exec. Prepare the weather

BOSTON – We are currently under the next weather warning for a long-term, multi-faceted winter storm that will arrive Sunday night and into Monday night.

Like previous storms, this one will feature rain for some, snow for others, and variable conditions over a 24+ hour period of precipitation.

Perhaps the hardest call on Monday is canceling school. Much of southern New England will pick up rain Monday morning.

However, as colder air arrives, the rain will turn to heavy, wet snow on Monday. This can make travel difficult in the afternoon and evening.

Finally, we have some concerns with wind, coastal flooding and power outages on Monday.

While the winds won’t be as strong as some of our nor’easters, combined with the heavy weight of snow on trees and power lines, there could be enough wind to cause some power outages.

Winter storm warning For northern Worcester County and northern Middlesex County and areas covered in pink, the main type of precipitation is likely to be heavy, wet snow. Travel in untreated areas can be difficult.

Winter weather advisory Applies to the city of Boston and areas shaded purple. Light amounts of snow are expected, but plan for slippery road conditions, especially midday Monday and into Monday evening.

timeline

A rain/snow mix will continue across the Bay State Sunday night as the cold front leads to snow mainly north of the Pike, with milder conditions leading to rain to the southeast.

In a few hours, just before midnight, enough mild air will develop to push the rain/snow line north into New Hampshire. The only places in southern New England that will see any snow overnight are the Berkshires and possibly the northern Worcester Hills at times. Basically, for the rest of the area, it will only be a rainy night.

When you woke up Monday morning, it was the same deal – rain everywhere, with maybe some wet snow mixed in over the higher elevations of northern Worcester County.

This presents a very difficult decision for schools. Will they close as predicted for snow change? I think it mostly depends on a few key factors.

When will the change happen? How much snow do we expect to accumulate on Monday? Finally, what is the risk of power outages? Let’s see if we can answer some of these questions.

Forecast change from rain to snow on Monday:

10 a.m.: Northern Worcester County, Northwest Middlesex County (cities such as: Fitchburg, Nashua, Townsend).

Noon: Northwest portions of Interstate 495 (cities like Lowell, Lawrence, Amesbury), basically all of northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

2pm: Snow north of the Massa Pike and all areas including Worcester and Boston at this time. Also expect snow to reach all of Norfolk County and northern parts of Bristol and Plymouth counties.

4pm: Snow will fall across southern New England outside the Outer Cape and Nantucket.

Fortunately, in the evening the snow will begin to jump from west to east. It should end around 6-8pm in the Central Mass rooms and 8-10pm in the Eastern Mass.

how much?

The amount of snow is not an easy call. Like the last storm, temperatures will be very close to 32 degrees in the lower atmosphere and temperatures in many areas will be slightly above freezing by Monday afternoon. So it takes a really hard pace to find any kind of useful stock. Eastern Mass. looks set for long and heavy snow to accumulate Monday afternoon and evening.

Estimated rates:

Up to 1 inch coverage; South Coast and South Coast (all coming later Monday). Afternoon blowing snow could get up to two inches on unpaved ground so we will have to watch this area closely.

1 to 3 inches. Mainly east of I-495 on the north coast to Boston and part of southeast Mass (all coming Monday afternoon and evening).

3 to 6 inches; Around I-495 and west from northern Essex County to northwestern Middlesex County and most of Worcester County into New Hampshire and as far south as northern CT. (It usually comes from Monday afternoon to evening).

6 to 10 inches+: Northern Worcester County, Berkshires and southwestern New Hampshire. 10+ will only be in higher elevations where full snow will remain (storm totals, some overnight, some on Monday).

Other influences

Unlike the last few people, we have more wind risk with this storm. Expect north to northeast winds 20-40 MPH Monday morning/afternoon.

Then, as the storm wraps up and begins to exit, winds will shift to the north-northwest, gusting to 20-40 MPH Monday afternoon and evening.

Again, combined with very heavy, wet snow, this could be just enough wind to create some downed limbs and power lines.

Also, due to our stellar highs on Monday, there may be some minor coastal flooding during the midday high tide cycle. Coastal roads that are normally at risk may be washed away for a short period of time.

What’s next?

No rest for the tired! Another storm came later Wednesday!

It looks like it will start to snow Wednesday evening and turn to rain overnight, lasting through Thursday.

A busy week at the Weather Bureau. More on the coming storm.

Follow Terry on Twitter @TerryWBZ