Ice not so nice
Hello everyone 🧊
Late Tuesday afternoon, it became apparent that a coastal storm would end up tracking close enough to the region to bring some precipitation.
Between the overnight timing and stubborn cold air in the lower atmosphere, the recipe was ripe for ice.
Around 9:00 pm, I posted about the chance for school delays this morning (Wednesday).
The unfortuante result was numerous accidents overnight and the closure of I-84 at the NY-PA border, as vehicles ran into a great deal of trouble climbing the mountain between Port Jervis and Greenville.
As of 4:00 am, temperatures were hovering near freezing across Orange, Ulster, Sullivan, Dutchess, and Putnam County.
Untreated roads and sidewalks will continue to be icy and slippery over the next few hours through daybreak, likely prompting the need for school delays across the region — local reports can be found on my recent Facebook posts.
In some cases, the ice may not be immediately apparent, qualifying as “black ice”.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Dutchess and eastern Ulster County until 10:00 am Wednesday.
The precipitation will come to an end between 7:00-9:00 am Wednesday from west to east with temperatures slowly rising into the mid 30s.
Road conditions should be much improved by mid morning.
Also:
❄️ A dusting to a half inch of snow is possible from Thursday night into early Friday morning
🎅 There’s a *chance* for just a little bit of wet snow during the wee hours of Christmas morning
Stay safe out there!