Snow storm on Tuesday? Massachusetts could be hit by a powerful Nor'easter storm

A potential blizzard could bring arable snow to Massachusetts on Tuesday. Here's the latest forecast for the Boston area from the WBZ NEXT weather team.

BOSTON — Chances are rising that a high-impact nor'easter will hit southern New England on Tuesday.

Since this storm is still several days away, nothing is certain yet.

However, confidence has increased that we will see some effects here.

Snow storm tracking

Looking at the different storm track scenarios, the far north track (closest to southern New England) seems the least likely at the moment…say about 10%.

That meant a milder and wetter storm (rain in parts of the area).

There is still a good chance that the storm will move too far south to be considered a “trigger” here. I would say there is about a 40% chance that we will be “fringed” or caught by the northern edge of the storm. This will likely bring some snow to our area, especially south of Boston, but it will spare us the full impact.

Finally and unfortunately, the most likely scenario as of Friday appears to be a more classic New England storm track.

When will the snow storm start in Massachusetts?

The odds have increased to at least 50% that most of our area will see snow on Tuesday, good winds and coastal flooding.

The schedule will likely need to be adjusted, but for now, plan for snow starting early Tuesday morning and continuing through most of the day.

It's too early to map out an exact snow forecast, but the area in red (which covers roughly southern New England) depicts areas most at risk of snowfall Tuesday. You can see further north the chances are lower as the forecast track shifts slightly south on Friday.

Fears of coastal flooding with the storm

Perhaps worryingly, the storm may strike during one of the highest tidal cycles of the year. The absolute highest astronomical tides occur from Saturday to Monday. By Tuesday, these levels have come off their peak but are still very high. So, a Nor'easter-type storm wouldn't be good news for people living along the Nor'easter River East facing coast.

The biggest concern is the high tide early Tuesday afternoon.

If this coincides with the peak of the storm, moderate to major coastal flooding may occur in some areas.

Regardless of whether Tuesday's storm is successful or not, we are about to enter a colder period and possibly snowfall.

The next few weeks (at least) are likely to be cold and windy at times. Sorry Phil But your forecast for the beginning of spring does not look good at the moment!

We encourage you to follow updated forecasts throughout the weekend. We'll continue to keep you updated on potential developments on WBZ-TV, WBZ.com and CBS News Boston!