By Thursday, Massachusetts residents can expect to feel temperatures in the mid-to-upper 20s in most of the state, with temperatures in the 30s on the coast, and on Cape Cod and the Islands, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of New England saw a quick blast of snow overnight, dropping up to 4 inches of snow in some parts of New England. And it’s not quite over, as snow squalls are expected in the mid to late afternoon.

A cold front sweeping across the Northeast on Wednesday will make conditions ripe for snow squalls. These brief, intense bursts of snow can make travel conditions dangerous by dropping visibility and slickening roads in an instant.

Boston and the rest of New England have been dealing with well below-average temperatures, in some cases falling 20 degrees, as an expansive mass of Arctic air spreads across the eastern half of the United States. This cold surge is making our region this week feel colder than Anchorage, Alaska, which is topping out at 36 degrees.

A storm bringing snow Sunday will be followed by an arctic outbreak dropping temperatures into the 'single digits.'

The National Weather Service warns that snow squalls can be extremely hazardous because of their sudden onset.

A forecast map suggested the areas most likely to see snow squalls included New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and a northeastern part of Ohio. The NWS said probability of snow squalls was greater than 60 percent.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Sacramento area until Sunday at 4 p.m., with wind gusts up to 55 mph and a 70% chance of rain, and the Placerville area expecting 4 to six inches of snow.

A coastal storm system approaching New England Sunday afternoon is forecast to drop 3 to 6 inches of snow across the Boston area through early Monday, with higher accumulations of around 4 to 8 inches expected the farther inland you go. A few isolated areas, especially from Springfield to the Berkshires, could see nearly a foot stack up.

The NOAA, and the Farmers' and Old Farmers almanacs see different spring weather ahead in Michigan. Here's what to know

As we look ahead to the weekend, the jet stream will continue to flex slightly north and south of New England, prodding a couple more fast-moving storms to push into the region Friday and then again Sunday night. That will definitely make Saturday the pick of the weekend.

Behind this clipper system is a pocket of high pressure that will usher in much colder air today, stalling temperatures in the 20s across Greater Boston, with even colder readings west and north of the city. But the good news is that the sun should be out as you go about your day.