Snow will arrive Wednesday afternoon, followed by rain through Thursday

Terry Eliasen, WBZ-TV meteorologist, executive weather producer

BOSTON — The next storm system looks like the most recent one, except in reverse. This time, let’s snow first and rain second.

Snowfall is expected to begin on the front-end Wednesday afternoon and carry us through the first half of the night, with 3 to 6 inches in many inland locations and lesser amounts further south or near the coast.

This is expected to make for another slow and challenging evening drive on Wednesday with snow covered roads, so plan accordingly!

As the night progresses, milder winds will prevail and snow will begin to change to a mixture of snow and rain across the interior, with light precipitation in the south and east. A dreary night will follow on Wednesday as temperatures rise with rain on top of the initial snow.

By dawn Thursday, wind gusts will be in the upper 50s for most of southeastern Massachusetts, while inland areas will be in the upper 40s Thursday afternoon. This warming, along with rain, should clear the southeast corner of the state overnight, but snow and slush will remain for more inland areas.

The good news is that the rain will end by early morning, so impacts to morning travel should be somewhat less Thursday.

Stay tuned to WBZ-TV, CBSBoston.com and CBS News Boston for frequent updates as we head into one of the busiest weeks of the winter season!