The second snow of the season left Newtown covered with a few inches of fresh precipitation before moving out of the area by mid-Wednesday morning.

Newtown received an average of 3.6 inches of snow, based on recordings from four National Weather Service spotters. Weather stations in town recorded 4.2, 3.7, 3.5, 3.0 according to a weather service Public Information Statement issued at 1:49 Wednesday afternoon.

While the new snow meant a three-hour delay for schools, and cautious driving for the morning commute, it also created a fresh coat of in-season precipitation. A bright blue sky and the sun emerging around midday led to a dazzling view for a few hours.

The snow is not expected to last long, however.

While the temperature Wednesday afternoon hovered around the 32-degree mark, the weather is expected to sour before the end of the work week. NWS is predicting a high of 42 degrees for Friday, along with a 30 percent chance of rain. Temperatures will increase into the low 50s by Saturday, with the chance of rain increasing to 90 percent, washing away any hope of today’s snow sticking around.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski agrees with the rain expectations.

“A stormy weather pattern has evolved in the eastern United States during the second week of December, and forecasters say it’s likely to culminate in a significant weather system later this week,” Mr Sosnowski wrote early Wednesday afternoon. “Despite a blast of Arctic air and an episode of wintry precipitation at midweek,” he continued, “temperatures are forecast to quickly rebound ahead of the next major storm in most but not all areas of the East Friday and Saturday.”

The eastern third of the nation, according to Mr Sosnowski, “can expect a dose of rain rather than snow.”

Heavy rain is being predicted for Friday and Saturday.

“Drenching rain and localized flooding are in store for much of the Eastern seaboard,” Mr Sosnowski wrote.