Burst of rain and wet snow due Friday in Mass.: accumulation possible in some areas

Forecasters expect a small winter storm to pass through Massachusetts beginning Friday morning, dropping a burst of wet snow in some areas and soaking others in cold rain.

The results of Friday’s weather system could vary across the state. Central and northeastern areas of Massachusetts, mainly to the northwest of Interstate 95, could see a few inches of wet, heavy snow accumulate, according to National Weather Service. Areas to the southeast of I-95 may sit on the boundary between cold rain and snow.

Higher elevation communities in the Berkshires or Worcester County may be due for a few inches of snow, while the floor of the Pioneer Valley could be left with an inch or two of a sloppy, slushy wintery mix, the weather service said.

Forecasters at the weather agency’s regional office in Norton expect the storm system to march into the region Friday mid-morning from the west, before departing in the evening. Roads could be slippery and hazardous at times, weather officials said.

Forecasters remain uncertain where the heaviest band of snow would plant itself, which could lead to local patches of 4 to 5 inches of accumulation, the weather service said in a Thursday morning report.

Ahead of the snow, Thursday is expected to be dreary and drizzly.

Weather service forecasters had earlier warned that temperatures Thursday could be cold enough to allow ice to form on roadways and sidewalks. In an update Thursday, forecasters said the areas most at risk of slick roads would be above 1,000 feet in elevation, where cool enough temperatures persisted.

A winter weather advisory previously issued for a wide swath of the state — from the Merrimack Valley and Middlesex County, through Worcester County and out to parts of Western Massachusetts — was reduced to a more limited area. The advisory now covers the higher elevation areas of Central Massachusetts, from the Worcester area to the New Hampshire border, as well as areas of Franklin County west of Greenfield.