Maps show where heavy rain and perhaps some snow will fall in Massachusetts after Thursday’s storm

BOSTON – The WBZ Weather Team has issued a NEXT weather warning for the rain shower coming on Thursday.

FINALLY! For the first time in months, a big soaker is on its way to New England. It’s been two months since Boston received at least 0.5 inches of rain from a single storm and more than three months since Boston received even an inch of rain.

This event will not be a “drought breaker,” but instead one “drought dent” and perhaps the beginning of a new pattern.

Rain timeline

Rain will fall from southwest to northeast on Thursday morning. By afternoon it should have covered most of southern New England.

The heaviest rain falls on Thursday afternoon and evening. We expect a very wet evening ride with periods and areas of heavy rain showers.

The band of rain will gradually turn north, with the heaviest rain shifting into New Hampshire overnight.

The entire storm system will slowly leave the area. There will be persistent cloud cover and some showers on Friday and Saturday.

How many?

Generally between 0.5 and 1.5 inches for the entire area, most of which will fall Thursday afternoon through the first half of Thursday evening.

It will also be windy

On Thursday, easterly wind gusts will increase during the day, peaking late in the day and in the first half of Thursday night.

Expect wind gusts between 25 mph and 45 mph, with the strongest and most frequent along the immediate coastline.

Yes, that’s a snow map!

As colder air is drawn into the storm Thursday evening and late Friday, the rain will turn to sleet at higher elevations (usually above 5,000 feet).

In the Berkshires there may be a coating of several centimeters. However, the most likely place for some light snow accumulation is the higher elevations of the Green and White Mountains.

What’s next?

The storm system will slowly leave the area this weekend. As the center of the storm moves through the Gulf of Maine and towards Nova Scotia, we will see a drying trend, but conditions will remain stormy on both Saturday and Sunday.