Big snowstorm will miss New England, but minor accumulation expected

It’s no secret that Boston has been feeling the winter chill lately, with biting winds and colder-than-average temperatures dominating the week. Let’s break down what’s ahead for Boston and New England as significant weather unfolds across the country.

Northwest winds will be hard to ignore Thursday, gusting between 35 and 45 mph in some spots. If you’re venturing outside, bundle up. Highs will struggle to climb out of the 20s, but wind chills will make it feel closer to the teens — or single digits during gusty moments.

You might notice some flurries or light snow showers in the area. These won’t amount to much — a dusting to half an inch in spots. But with the gusty winds, any snow will blow around, creating reduced visibility and some brief slick travel, so use caution.

Finally, some relief arrives late Thursday into Friday as a weak area of high pressure starts to build in.

Winds will gradually ease and skies will begin to clear, bringing calmer conditions. Highs on Friday will climb into the mid to even upper 30s — very normal for January and far more manageable than what Boston has endured lately.

The next system to watch is the same winter storm bringing snow and major impacts to portions of the southern Plains Thursday.

The bulk of this storm misses us - organizing and strengthening too far to our south and east to bring anything substantial to the region. Nonetheless, there is still some upper level energy that will swing through, causing light snow to develop overnight Friday and continue into Saturday morning.

For most, this event will drop a coating to 1 inch of snow, perhaps as much as 2 inches (worst case scenario right now.) This will be enough to create some slippery travel on Saturday morning especially. Because this disturbance is fairly disorganized, snowfall amounts will be kind of a patchwork, too.

The weekend wraps up on a sunnier note, with Sunday bringing plenty of sunshine and highs in the mid- to upper-30s for Boston.

While New England prepares for some minor snow and gusty winds, the nation’s weather drama is unfolding elsewhere: