A major nor'easter is headed toward Greater Boston. National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham joined Arun Rath on GBH’s All Things Considered to discuss what we might expect from the storm. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Arun Rath: So when are we expecting to start seeing some snow?
Alan Dunham: Well, we've had a little bit of snow from a weak system well ahead of the main producer's snow, so we had some light flurries out there.
The steady snow from this new system will be moving in between 8 and 9 o'clock into the Boston area. That area snow will just keep moving on toward the north, and we'll have snow pretty much through the entire night. And then it really starts picking up on Saturday morning. Heaviest snow between 5 in the morning and probably 4 or 5 in the afternoon. And there'll be a time period in there for the Greater Boston metro area, where we'll see snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches of snow an hour.
Rath: What have we seen already from this to to the south of us? And what might that give us an indication of what we're in store for?
Dunham: It's hard to tell because there's been a little bit of snow on the Eastern seaboard, but the low pressure itself only started to form the last two to three hours. And it's still well south of Cape Hatteras. And what this storm is going to do as it moves to the north-northeast, is it's going to pretty much explode into a very powerful ocean storm. So really, even along the Mid-Atlantic, we'll be not be seeing the full brunt of it for another hour or two.
Rath: The kind of conditions you're talking about sound pretty intense. Is that comparable to any recent nor'easters we've seen?
Dunham: The last blizzard conditions that Greater Boston's seen was back in March 13, 2018, so it's been a while since we've had a blizzard. And we do have the blizzard warnings out for pretty much all of Eastern Massachusetts after midnight tonight through midnight Saturday night.
Rath: One thing we've heard is the concern about [this storm] coinciding with tides and possible storm surges. What should be concerned about there, and what areas?
Dunham: Right now, any east- and north-facing coastal areas. We're actually going to luck out a bit because the strongest winds and seas will actually be between the two high tides. So we have a high tide about 8 o'clock tomorrow morning and we're looking for minor coastal flooding concerns with that one, maybe a few isolated pockets of moderate [flooding]. And then the 9 p.m. tide, again, mainly minor flooding concerns.
Any place we're worried about possible moderate flooding would be actually the north side of Cape Cod — Sandwich over to Dennis — as those very strong north-northwest winds just push the water right down to Cape Cod Bay to the top of Cape Cod.
Rath: And finally, any tips for preparation? We're all just seeming like we're just going to hunker down as much as possible.
Dunham: Well, people have to be prepared for power outages, so they need to make sure they've got plenty of batteries so they can listen to emergency broadcasts and whatnot. Charge your phones now while you've got the chance.
Make sure you've got water, especially if you live in a town that does not have public water and you rely on well water. Make sure you fill up your bathtubs to be able to flush toilets over most of tomorrow.
I would anticipate a fair number of power outages, especially right along the coast and over at Cape Cod and the islands.
Anything you want to get done, do it tonight. Because tomorrow the best thing I can say is stay off the roads. Looking at those snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches an hour — and you're throwing in those winds of 30, 40, 50, 60 miles an hour — you will not be able to see the front end of your car. So just stay home, let the emergency crews do what they have to do to get the roads cleared. And that's it. Unless it's an absolute emergency, there's just no way you should be on the roads tomorrow.
Rath: Get your stuff, get in, and just settle in for it.
Dunham: Yep.
Rath: Excellent. Alan Dunham, thank you so much. It's great to talk with you in a situation like this. We appreciate it.
Dunham: My pleasure. Everybody be safe out there late tonight and all day tomorrow.
