Crocuses in bloom, Lowell Mass, March 31, 2011

The crocuses poking up in my front yard must have missed the latest forecast, otherwise they would have stayed below ground. Hoping that the prediction of snow was just an April Fool’s joke, I clicked through the TV dial to survey several weather forecasts:

Channel 5 puts Lowell on the border between 2-6 inches of snow and 6-12. A fractional change in the storm’s track or the temperature will make a huge difference.

Channel 7 says we’ll get 4-7 inches of heavy, wet snow but there’s little risk of icing or sleet with winds of up to 40 mph. The storm will taper off on Friday afternoon.

NECN has us getting 6+ inches of heavy, wet snow beginning after midnight tonight although NECN has Rte 495 as the dividing line between a lot of snow and not so much.

Channel 4 gives us 2-4 inches with a “close to call” caveat on the weather map.

WCAP’s Al Kaprielian predicts the most snow, giving us a pretty solid 6-12 inches.

Check back this time tomorrow for no school announcements