Straddling the Line: Wide Range on Snow Totals Sunday in Belmont

The third winter storm in consecutive weekends heading to Belmont and Massachusetts will be bringing a foot of snow by Sunday night.

Or four inches of snow.

How about eight inches? A foot or more?

According to several forecasts from news operations and the National Weather Service, snow will be coming to town this weekend. It's just that none are saying just how much Belmont residents will be shoveling Sunday night when the snow moves through.

With the rain/snow transition line will be running close to Belmont when the snow fall begins, weather forecasters can't pin down just how much will be coming down Saturday. 

As of Friday at 3:54 a.m., the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch – issued when 6 inches of snow falls in a 12 hour period or 8 inches in 24 hours – for Belmont and municipalities to the North with the snow beginning Saturday evening with the heaviest amounts occuring Saturday night into Sunday morning when one to two inches will fall every hour. 

Yet it's possible that rain will mix with the snow around Belmont and south of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton cutting the amount of snow on the ground.

Currently, the totals range from a low of below six inches and a high of more than a foot of the white stuff. 

The greatest concerns is that the heavy wet snow will stress tree branches producing outages when the limbs fall on power lines. Roads will also be slushy and driving will be a challenge.