Nor’easter targeting No. Shore

LYNN – Spring may be here, but “Old Man Winter” is refusing to release his tight grip on New England.A Nor’easter is predicted for this evening, lingering into Friday afternoon with whipping winds, heavy rain and snow, yes snow, mixed in.”Winter may be meteorologically over, but Mother Nature is keeping us on our toes,” said Meteorologist Alan Dunham of the National Weather Service. “At this point, I’m confident we will get a storm, but as to who gets how much snow will depend on the track.”As of now, Dunham said the greater Lynn area is not expected to get much accumulating snow, but rather a sloppy mixture that will stick to the grass and quickly melt on the roadways.”There will be gusty winds, it will be raw, wet, icky and not feel very spring-like at all,” he said.” But there is nothing set in stone with this storm.”Regardless of what happens, the spring mess will not rival that of the April Fool’s Day blizzard of 1997, where 24.5 inches of snow hit the area.”I would be amazed if we got 2-4 inches of snow,” said Department of Public Works Commissioner Larry Donahue. “But we’re always prepared. You can’t let your guard down until the second week of April.”Donahue said five plow trucks and a payloader are due to be returned on April 1 following a four-month lease, but he will keep them around for an extra day or two if the storm decides to pound the city. An excess of salt is also on hand to coat the roadways in case it’s needed.But, with the lyrics of a Johnny Mathis song, “Melt my heart like April snow” playing in his head, Donahue said he hopes the trucks can be returned on time.”Let’s hope this storm is much ado about nothing,” he quipped.The current forecast is calling for temperatures in the lower 30s today with snow mixed in with rain arriving around 8 p.m. Snow is expected to depart Friday morning with temperatures remaining in the lower 30s and snow showers in the afternoon. Mostly sunny skies are expected for Saturday and Sunday with temperatures in the lower 40s.