Winter's Not Over! 2 To 4 Inches Expected For Most Of Area On Friday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The mild temperatures on Thursday will be soon be a distant memory.
A winter weather advisory will kick in at 10 p.m. Thursday and continue until 2 p.m. Friday. For Suffolk County, a winter storm warning has been issued.
There's a chance for a brief period of rain Thursday afternoon and snow is expected in the early morning Friday.
Two separate storm systems were moving eastward toward the Tri-State Area on Thursday afternoon. One was around St. Louis as of 5 p.m., while the other was around Cleveland.
The storm systems are forecast to join forces for measurable snow, CBS2's Lonnie Quinn reported.
The snow is expected to start up during the early morning hours and will likely grow more vigorous after daybreak with temperatures in the 30s. The snow is expected to wrap up by the early afternoon.
The forecast calls for 2 to 4 inches of accumulation for the five boroughs of New York City and most of the Tri-State Area. But eastern Suffolk County and some parts of New Jersey north and west of the city could see 4 inches or more.
The RPM weather models shows 3.4 inches for the city, 4 inches for Coram, 4.3 inches for Danbury, and 4.5 inches for Montgomery by early Saturday morning.
The GFS model shows 3.1 inches for New York, 4.5 for Coram, and 5.5 for Montauk.
The North American Model calls for 2.4 inches for the city, 3.3 for Montgomery and Danbury, and 3.5 for Montauk.
The Department of Sanitation has issued a "Snow Alert" for early Friday morning. That means that DSNY is loading salt spreaders, attaching plows, adding tire chains and more.
Alternate side parking regulations will be suspended Friday for snow operations.
NJ TRANSIT is cross-honoring bus tickets systemwide, and some schools have also delayed openings.
The snow will be slow to accumulate on the roadways, but the slushy and wet roads will refreeze – particularly as temperatures plummet into the weekend.
And the snow coming on Friday does not just represent a temporary return to winter.
On Saturday morning, temperatures will drop to bitter wintry lows, with 15 degrees for the city, 11 for Hackettstown and Newburgh, and just 5 degrees for upstate Liberty as of 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The high is expected to remain below the freezing mark on Saturday, and likely will not for Sunday either.
And come Tuesday, another snowstorm could be coming – and it could be a bruiser. It is too soon to commit to a forecast model, but the potential for a coastal storm is there.
The forecast highs for the week to come do not make it back to 40 degrees until Thursday of next week.
Click here for the current forecast, alerts and advisories.
