Powerful nor’easter set to slam New England with blizzard conditions late Sunday into Monday. Here’s the latest.

Because of the strong winds and heavy snow, visibility will be limited to a quarter mile or less at times, especially the first half of Monday. Winds will increase Monday afternoon with gusts of 50 to 60 mph along the coastline, especially on the Cape, where near-hurricane-force winds of 70 mph are possible.

“Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening,” the National Weather Service in Norton said Saturday afternoon. “Travel could be very difficult to impossible. The hazardous conditions will impact the Monday morning and evening commutes.”

It’s the first time in four years that a blizzard warning has been issued for our region.

This impending storm is going to develop off the Carolinas by Sunday morning and then rapidly strengthen or “bomb out” into an intense ocean nor’easter. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic from Delaware to New Jersey and New York could see one of their largest snowstorms in years. It’s not going to be surprising if a few spots in the Mid-Atlantic exceed 2 feet of snow.

Here in New England, we can expect up to nearly 2 feet of snow in Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts, including the South Shore and Cape Cod, and Rhode Island. Boston to Worcester and south to the coast should pick up around 12 to 18 inches. Some areas could pick up a bigger shot of snow, up to 22 inches. Less but still significant accumulation is expected the farther west you go.

Blizzard conditions will make travel nearly impossible for the first half of Monday, with the heavy snow coming down at 1 to 2 inches an hour mixed with whipping winds. Plan on schools being closed and many people working from home on Monday.

A strong nor’easter will likely pass by New England late Sunday into Monday.Boston Globe

You’ll be able to get out and about on Sunday without much fanfare from the weather. There may be a few snow showers coming in off the ocean on Sunday, but they won’t amount to much.

• 3 p.m., Sunday to midnight — A handful of leading-edge snow showers could float into the region during the afternoon and evening. These should be light and scattered, with no impact expected. If anything, winds will increase a bit during this stretch.

• Midnight to 3 a.m., Monday — The storm will arrive when most people are sleeping Sunday night. I expect the snow to start fairly heavy at this time.

• 3 a.m. to sunrise — By sunrise, you can likely expect 5 to 10 inches of snow on the ground from Boston to the southern coast, with 3 to 6 inches north of the Mass Pike.

A large swath of potential 10- to 20-inch amounts is on the line for much of Southern New England, from roughly Fitchburg down through Hartford. As you move northwest, the snow will trail off since those areas will be farther away from the storm. The ski areas across Northern New England are likely to see 3 to 6 inches of snow, but the coast of Maine and the seacoast of New Hampshire could see anywhere from 7 to 14 inches.

• Sunrise to early afternoon — The storm changes from intense and dangerous to steady and persistent. Still, there is no way you want to risk going out, but we’ll see a little less energy while lighter snow continues to fall.

• Afternoon — From 1 p.m. until around 8 p.m., another 1 to 4 inches could fall, but the majority of the snow will already be on the ground. The snow tapers off.

• Monday night — Skies begin to thin out and clear up, but it’ll remain breezy into Tuesday morning.

Forecast snow totals Sunday into Monday as a powerful nor’easter moves into Southern New England, causing blizzard conditions.Boston Globe

Temperatures will be in the 20s for most of the storm from Boston north and west, but in the 30s over Cape Cod.

Damaging, near hurricane-force winds

As noted, the winds will increase Monday afternoon with gusts of 50 to 60 mph along the coastline, especially on the Cape, where near-hurricane-force winds of 70 mph are possible. To illustrate just how strong the winds are associated with this storm, a hurricane-force wind warning has been issued off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic.

Indeed, these types of winter storms are almost like a hurricane, but the center is cold instead of warm. The satellite photograph on Monday morning is likely to be quite impressive, with something resembling an eye.

Wind gusts will pick up significantly overnight Sunday into Monday morning. Strong gusts last into Tuesday.Boston Globe

A nor’easter bomb cyclone

Driving this severe weather of intense blowing snow and heavy precipitation is what we call a bomb cyclone. Moving along the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday, this nor’easter is expected to rapidly intensify while undergoing “bombogenesis,” when the atmospheric pressure drops sharply within 24 hours (at least 24 millibars over 24 hours).

The ingredients of how a “bomb cyclone” forms.Physics.org

For this particular weekend storm, it’s going to have a central pressure over 1000 millibars Sunday morning that will drop sharply to 970 millibars 24 hours later by sunrise Monday. This drop of more than 30 millibars clearly meets the criteria for a bomb cyclone.

The reason why this particular storm will undergo such rapid intensification lies with what’s above, higher in the atmosphere. The surface storm is an area of low pressure, or rising air that condenses to make our precipitation. Higher up, an upper-level low will vertically stack on top of the surface storm, dramatically amplifying lift and allowing the central pressure to drop so suddenly. It’s like an atmospheric vertical slingshot with the higher-level storm pulling up on the already rising surface storm.

Prepare for widespread power outages

Because of the heavy amounts of snow and the wind, I recommend thinking about what you’re going to do if you lose power come Monday morning. This could last into Tuesday as crews will have a hard time getting to some areas. The most likely spots for power outages will be where the snow is heaviest and wettest: south of Boston and over Cape Cod and the islands.

Some minor to moderate coastal flooding is possible with this storm, with 1 to 3 feet of inundation possible in low-lying areas. A coastal flood warning is in effect for the southeast coast of Mass. and the islands early Monday, and then a coastal flood watch for Monday afternoon.

With tides being astronomically high this weekend, there’s the potential for more moderate flooding and even beach erosion.

Coastal flood alerts for late Sunday into Tuesday morning along the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine coast.Boston GlobeCoastal flood alerts for late Sunday into Tuesday morning along the Massachusetts coast.Boston Globe

Unlike the January storm, where the snow has been on the ground for a month, it’s unlikely that this snow is going to last another month. Temperatures are going to warm into the 40s later next week, and we will start to see some significant melting with the strong March sunshine in just over a week. Spring will be here; it always is.

A layer of snow covers the vegetation as a couple walk their dog on Carson Beach on Saturday. A powerful nor’easter, our region’s biggest snowstorm of the season, is on track to pound Southern New England with heavy snow, damaging winds, and coastal flooding Sunday night into Monday.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

Ken Mahan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram @kenmahantheweatherman.