MA Weather: Heavy Rain, Wind Gusts Shaking Up Calm Stretch

Mild temperatures are beginning to tick down as heavy wind and rain make their way in, but still no winter weather appears in store as we head for March.

A patchy sky is expected to give way to heavy overnight rain, peaking the early hours Thursday. The morning commute is all but guaranteed to be soaked.

Not only will it be wet, but strong wind gusts will begin picking up Wednesday night. A wind advisory will be in effect for the coastal Essex County, which could see gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. The rest of the coast will see gusts in the 45-mph range, and inland will be 25-35 mph.

The strongest winds will be around dawn Thursday.

"Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects," the National Weather Service said. "Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result."

Through it all, temperatures will remain high. It will be as warm as 50 degrees Thursday before temperatures tumble to freezing, though by then it will have dried up. Massachusetts, it appears, will dodge snow yet again.

Boston-area forecast via NWS

Today - A chance of rain, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 44. East wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight - Rain, mainly after 1am. Patchy fog. Low around 40. East wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Thursday - Rain, mainly before 9am. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 51. East wind around 18 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Thursday Night - Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. West wind 13 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Friday - Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Friday Night - Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. West wind 5 to 8 mph.

Saturday - Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. West wind around 7 mph.

Saturday Night- Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. Northwest wind around 7 mph.

Sunday - Sunny, with a high near 35. Northwest wind around 7 mph.

Sunday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 21. Northwest wind around 6 mph.

Monday- Sunny, with a high near 40. Light and variable wind.

Monday Night - Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Light south wind.

Tuesday - A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 49. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%.