As the Alberta Clipper system moves into the Great Lakes on Wednesday, we’ll expect to see a few bands of light to moderate snow to develop across the Hudson Valley near or after sunset on Wednesday.
Futurecast Radar Loop : 4pm Wednesday to 7am Friday
There really is not a lot of moisture associated with the clipper system, and it’s actually the frontal boundary that appears likely to cause a snow band to develop Wednesday evening. So, while it appears likely to snow across the Hudson Valley Wednesday night, it looks mostly like a nuisance rather than a major disruption.
Timing:
– 5pm to 10pm : Scattered areas of light snow develop
– 10pm to 6am Thursday: Scattered snow showers possible
– 6am Thursday and after: Scattered snow flurries & mountain snow showers
Impacts:
– Quick burst of snow possible in places Wednesday night
– Rapid changing conditions possible, low visibility, isolated icy roads
– Slippery/ icy Thursday AM commute can’t be ruled out
Snow Accumulation:
– Catskills : 2 to 4 inches
– Hudson Valley : coating to 1 inch (localized totals up to 2″)
You can see on the radar loop at the top of the post, that there are not well organized areas of precipitation (snow). The result being that due to limited moisture available with this system, snow totals across the valley could be a dusting to a half inch… maybe in inch in spots. A few hill towns could see just over an inch… maybe 2″ closer to the NY/CT border.
Even with the lighter amounts, it’s possible that we have some slick spots Wednesday night into Thursday. A few areas could have roads coated with snow… and as the arctic front swings around late Wednesday night into Thursday morning… a burst of snow could occur within a snow squall or two. Remember, we have a wind advisory in effect across much of the valley, so the little bit of snow that falls could be whipped around by the wind. With temperatures around freezing… some icy roads and areas of black ice can’t be ruled out. So we’ll have to monitor the impact on our Thursday AM commutes.
Behind the front Thursday afternoon and Friday… we’ll have winds howling out of the WNW at 15 to 25mph, gusting between 30mph and 40mph.
Futurecast Wind Gusts : Thursday 8pm
These winds will continue overnight… and the result will be temperatures in the upper teens and low 20s… but wind chills in the single digits and low teens by the Friday morning commute!
So we go from snow squalls and possible icy roadways for Thursday morning… to bitter wind chills for our Friday morning commute. If nothing else, it’s definitely feeling like winter across the region. We’ll have updates on Wednesday as the snow approaches the area… and if it looks like we might see a bit more snow in the valley, we’ll be sure to pass that along.