When Will The Snow Melt In Massachusetts

A snowstorm that won't soon be forgotten - either for its hyperbolic names or its furious daylong assault on New England - will shortly be history. The storm is expected to wrap up around 9 p.m. on the easternmost part of the state, leaving would-be shovelers little time to dig out of more than a foot of snow before another deep freeze sets in.

The high temperatures Friday are dipping back into the teens, and the low temperatures will be below zero once again. It will feel about minus 12 degrees at noon and minus 17 degrees at midnight.

Saturday will be even colder - the coldest air of the winter, some forecasters have said. The wind chill factor will bottom out at 23 degrees below zero Saturday morning, when daytime temperatures will be at zero.

After a day of historic flooding and the largest tide in Massachusetts history, the state is in danger of being encased in a shell of ice for the next several days.

Sunday will still be well below freezing, with low temperatures around 10 degrees. We have a chance to start melting Monday, when high temperatures hit 34 degrees, and a cloudy Tuesday in which highs will be 36.

Temperatures drop below freezing again Wednesday, but could get close to 40 on Thursday.

The cold offers more than the inconvenience of a brief ice age. Roughly 8,000 were without power at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

A woman shovels a path to her car in East Boston Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)