It’s going to be a chilly, windswept weekend.
A cold front is expected to sweep across the region late Friday afternoon into the evening, said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.
The region, as well as most of the rest of the commonwealth, are under a hazardous weather outlook as well as a special weather statement.
As temperatures drop, Dunham said to expect scattered snow showers, including a few strong enough to be classified as snow squalls. Dunham likened the former to rain showers and the latter to thunderstorms. A squall includes heavy snowfall accompanied by rapidly decreasing visibility, he said.
“Like (any occasion of) showery precipitation — some people get some, some people won’t,” Dunham said. “They will be hit or miss.”
An updated special weather statement, issued just before 11 a.m. Friday, notes that the best chance for snow is between 5 and 10 p.m. with the first round moving west to east across the region while a second band travels north to south.
Friday night is forecast to be “darn chilly,” according to Durham. Lows will be around 8 degrees with a wind chill factor driving temperatures below zero, he said.
Strong winds will continue through the weekend, coupled with colder temperatures. By Monday, temperatures are expected to return to normal with the region experiencing partly sunny skies and highs in the mid-to-upper 40s, according to Durham.
There is a moderate chance that wind chill advisories will be issued Saturday through Thursday.