Morning! How about those crazy winds Thursday night?! That strong cold front certainly brought us back to reality, temperature wise! That said, today’s system is a walk in the park compared to the massive blizzard up in New Foundland last night. How does 102mph winds, pressure of 972mb and 29″ of snow in 24 hours sound? Or perhaps overnight low temps of minus 25F at Nine Mile Bridge in Northern Maine, minus 18F at Mount Washington Airport, NH, minus 18F in Danville, VT, or minus 15F at Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear, NY suite you? Now that I accelerated your plans to move down south (or thoroughly excited you snow/cold freaks), let’s discuss our more mundane system headed our way today.
I don’t have much to change in terms of location of accumulating snowfall, which should be limited to West and North of 202/287 from Stockton (rt202) to Suffern, NY. This is a quick moving system where snow begins early afternoon tomorrow, tapering off well before midnight. While not a large storm, given the cold temperatures overnight (upper teens to low 20s throughout the tri-state), any snow will stick to all surfaces, at least initially causing hazardous travel.
TIMING: For NJ/NYC area, precip begins as all snow from west to east beginning between 11am and 1pm. There may be a brief break midday before intensifying later in the afternoon before changing over to sleet, freezing rain to all rain, especially further south of 195 and along the coast (winds blowing off the ocean driving “warmer” air). All precip will taper off between 8pm and 10pm (southern New England sees all snow beginning between 5pm and 8pm, tapering off well before daybreak Sunday morning).
AMOUNTS: While tricky based on timing of southwest winds driving warmer air, leading to a sloppy mix and lowering snow totals, a general 2-4″ can be expected north of 202/287 to Rt78. Further north up to Rt80 into NNJ burbs can see the potential high end of the range due to less mixing. NYC and W LI: nil up to an 1″ or 2″, Philly: a coating, SENJ: nil to an initial coating, Hudson Valley: 3-5″, most of CT: 2-4″, Boston: 3-5″, Keene, NH: 4-6″, DC: possible flurries to start in the morning (may shut down city, just kidding) changing to a mix to rain in afternoon.
Overall, not a major deal, but given our winter so far, any snow is perceived to be significant. Travel will be slow as snow will accumulate on roads, especially north and west so plan accordingly. Sunday will be mostly sunny blustery and cold with temps in the mid to upper 30s, dropping overnight into the low20s to upper teens in the burbs. The upcoming week will contain mostly sunny skies but Monday thru Wednesday will be bitterly cold with the mercury hovering around the freezing mark to the upper 20s for highs, with overnight lows in the 20s (teens to single digits in the usual spots). We do moderate to near normal temps at the end of the week into the weekend (possible 50F day). That’s it for now. I’ll be back with updates on future storms as we delve further into the winter. Stay warm, drive safe and remember, weather never sleeps!
