Icy, Snowy, Messy Thursday Mix Across MA: See Storm Timeline

MASSACHUSETTS — A quick-moving and potentially very tricky winter storm is on track to hit Massachusetts with a mix of snow, ice and freezing glaze at a very challenging time for those planning travel and determining whether to cancel school on Thursday.

While snow totals are not forecast to be particularly high — 2 to 4 inches across the state with higher amounts in the Merrimack Valley and Worcester Hills and lesser amounts near the South Shore and South Coast — it will be a messy one with the National Weather Service saying on Wednesday that snow will rapidly overspread the region between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Thursday.

• Ice, Snow Winter Weather Advisory Issued Across MA For Thursday Storm

"The snow may be briefly heavy with 2 to 3 inches in just a couple hours," the NWS said. "Snow then changes to sleet/light freezing rain with diminishing intensity. Temps remain near or below freezing through Thursday afternoon."

The NWS alerted that "snow will stick immediately on the roadways given the cold temperatures" and that driving conditions will deteriorate quickly.

While the buses should have a relatively easy time getting children to schools, getting them home could be the more daunting endeavor giving the timing of the storm.

At noon, Boston, Fitchburg, Gloucester, Hyannis, Lowell, Worcester and Providence will all have a 65 percent chance of snowfall rates of a half-inch an hour or greater.

Those chances diminish across much of the interior of the state by 1 to 2 p.m. except for Gloucester and Hyannis.

The NWS said the snow will mix with sleet and freezing rain in the afternoon with the possibility of some rain along the coast. Precipitation levels will ease in the afternoon around 2 to 3 p.m. across the entire state but poor driving conditions could linger into the evening commute with an icy glaze topping any snowy mix on the roadways.

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for all of the state outside of far western Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Plan on slippery road conditions," the NWS said. "The hazardous conditions could impact the Thursday morning and evening commutes."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)