Brutal Cold Makes Winter Weekend Comeback Across MA: See Latest Forecast

MASSACHUSETTS — The harsh reality of winter in New England will replace a week of relatively mild temperatures for January, starting Thursday night as temperatures crash from near 50 degrees during the day to wind chills near zero by Friday morning.

The frigid stretch will include two chances at snow this weekend — including a coastal storm on Sunday night that looks like a near-miss as of Thursday — with temperatures in the 20s and wind chills in the single digits expected to continue for most of next week.

Thursday will be the last of the early-spring-like days with a high of 51 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Winds will turn from the southwest to the west late in the afternoon and overnight as temperatures crash. They will be in the single digits and teens in the morning on Friday, before temperatures only rebound into the 20s during the day.

Wind gusts to 33 mph will make it feel more like the teens.

Saturday will be chilly and cloudy with snow and rain showers. The NWS is forecasting little to no accumulation.

Some snow is likely, according to the NWS, for the New England Patriots' AFC Divisional game against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. start in Foxborough). The question is how close the storm will come, and whether that will allow for accumulating snow or more of a glancing blow.

The latest forecasts on Thursday morning suggested the storm would remain too far out to sea for a direct hit, with Cape Cod and the Islands having the best chance for plowable snow.

Harsh cold will settle in for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with highs near 30 degrees on Monday and highs only in the low 20s on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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