White Christmas Watch: More Snow Chances, See Latest Totals

MASSACHUSETTS — A relatively minor winter storm delivered just enough snow to make it a white Christmas for many across Massachusetts with up to 3 inches falling late in the afternoon into Tuesday night.

One more chance for snow showers on Christmas Eve could enhance chances of at least 1 inch of snow on the ground at dawn on the big day — the official definition of a white Christmas — with coastal areas having the best chance of a coating to 1 inch of snow on Wednesday.

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While hardly a blockbuster, Tuesday's snow did make for slick travel for many interior locations on Tuesday, with Townsend — in far northwest Middlesex County — topping the list of top snow targets at 2.8 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

Here were some of the bigger totals across MA on Tuesday:

• 2.8 inches — Townsend
• 2.7 inches — Ashburnham
• 2.7 inches — Hubbardston
• 2.3 inches — Gardner
• 2.3 inches — Methuen
• 2.2 inches — Fitchburg
• 2.2 inches — Ashby
• 2.2 inches — Lunenberg
• 2.0 inches — Lowell
• 2.0 inches — Worcester Airport
• 1.9 inches — Tyngsboro
• 1.5 inches — Chelmsford
• 1.5 inches — Holliston

The best chance for snow showers on Christmas Eve will be between noon and 3 p.m. closer to the coast. Some areas will mix with rain with highs up the upper 30s.

The wind will be a bigger deal for higher-profile vehicles making the trip to grandma's house, as they will be sustained between 14 and 21 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Wind chills will be in the teens and 20s.

The NWS said there will also be a slight chance of snow showers on Christmas Day with a high of 40 degrees.

The frigid cold returns on Friday with a high temperature of 24 degrees and wind chills in the teens.

More weather systems will cycle through over the weekend, with light snow likely on Saturday, and a rain/ice/snow mix in store for later Sunday into Monday, before it again turns sharply colder for the start of next week.

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