A stormy barrage is getting underway across the United States.
The first storm in the sequence will develop in the Midwest on Wednesday and move into the Northeast on Thursday.
Compared to other storms this year, this one will come with more ice — especially in Pennsylvania and parts of the Mid-Atlantic.
For the Hudson Valley, the trend has been toward more snow on Thursday rather than just freezing rain and sleet. Overall, that’s good news because it lowers the power outage risk.
Regardless of the precipitation type, one thing is clear: it won’t be a banner day for the roads. They’ll be caked in a mixture of slush, snow, and ice starting during the morning commute.
For that reason, school closures look very likely, with frozen precipitation encompassing the entirety of the region and extending southward to near New York City.
Here’s the predicted precipitation type at 7:00 a.m. Thursday, showing the storm advancing into the region:
What? Wintry mix.
When? Starting between 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. Thursday. Ending late Thursday afternoon.
How much? 2 to 4 inches of snow followed by a crusty covering of sleet and freezing rain of up to a tenth of an inch.
Impact? Road conditions will deteriorate rapidly during the Thursday morning commute and remain poor into the early afternoon. This brings a high chance for school closures regionwide. Temperatures will rise above freezing during the afternoon, leading to a gradual improvement in conditions. Above freezing temperatures on Thursday night may prevent a hard refreeze on Friday morning.
Another winter storm will probably move in late Saturday and currently looks similar to Thursday’s storm, though it could come with more ice. Stay tuned.
Thank you Ben!