Snowy Start to the Weekend New York City to Boston
While there will be some gaps in the swath of snow from west to east, some streets and highways will get slippery for a time later Friday evening into Saturday. What snow falls may lay around through the weekend, due to colder air coming in. (Photos.com photo)
Several events are combining to bring areas of accumulating snow, flurries and colder weather across the eastern Great Lakes, the mid-Atlantic and New England at the start of this weekend.
The combination of a strengthening storm, upper-level disturbances and an arctic cold front are leading to two bands of snow spreading across the three regions today.
As we stated earlier this week, it is much more complex than a storm developing off the coast and heading out to sea with cold, dry air sweeping in.
An arctic cold front is invading the area. Normally, this sort of feature would have trouble producing flurries. However, there is some extra energy available in the atmosphere.
1. Coastal Storm
A storm will continue to strengthen off the Northeast coast today, putting down a swath of accumulating snow from part of the Delmarva Peninsula, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania through the New York Metropolitan area to eastern New England.
A light coating of snow is possible outside of the gray areas on this map in parts of the Midwest, southeastern Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula and portions of northern New England. A larger version of this map is available on the AccuWeather.com Winter Weather Center.
The greatest amount of snow will fall from portions of Long Island to Down East Maine.
The storm will then go on to clobber Atlantic Canada as a major snow, wind and rainstorm later in the weekend.
2. Cold Front, Lake-Effect Snow and a Disturbance
A cold front, upper-level disturbance and lake effect are working together to bring a swath of snow from southwestern Ontario to the central Appalachians. Some areas will pick up a half of a foot of snow.
The southern track of the disturbance will result in little or no snow on the north shores of lakes Ontario and Huron, eastward to northern upstate New York to northwestern Maine.
Snow showers from the disturbance can reach as far south as southern Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula this afternoon and evening.
3. Arctic Air and Freeze-Up
Plunging temperatures in the wake of the storm and the disturbance, as well as during the lake-effect snow can lead to slippery travel.
The rate of snowfall with the storm in New England will determine how much snow accumulates on the roads.
Elsewhere, it is the cold air pouring in this weekend that will cause wet and slushy areas to freeze.
It is in areas such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati were the potential for black ice may overshadow the small amount of snow received.
A second wave of arctic air will dip southward across Quebec tonight. Sunday will be very cold over much of New England as a result.
More Weather News
-
What's Next for Beryl?
May 28, 2012; 12:25 PM ET
Beryl, with its drenching downpours and locally severe thunderstorms is expected to turn to the northeast, paralleling the Carolina coast during the middle of the week.
-
Memorial Day Storms Albany to Boston
May 28, 2012; 12:09 PM ET
Locally strong thunderstorms will roll across upstate New York and through part of New England into this evening.
-
"Mothership Cloud" Supercell Tornado In Texas
May 28, 2012; 12:07 PM ET
Storm chasers spotted the storm on May 21.
-
Photos: After-Effects of Tropical Storm Beryl
May 28, 2012; 12:00 PM ET
"Beryl, shmeryl..." No serious damage has been reported.
-
Severe Flooding in Northwestern Ontario
May 28, 2012; 10:49 AM ET
A state of emergency has been declared in the Thunder Bay area after severe flooding struck parts of Ontario's Lake Superior region.
-
Watching the Caribbean in the Wake of Beryl
May 28, 2012; 9:30 AM ET
The same general area of disturbed weather in the Caribbean that seeded Beryl, could attempt yet another tropical system this week.
-
Severe Storms to Slam Chicago, St. Louis, Springfield
May 28, 2012; 9:22 AM ET
Damaging thunderstorms will ignite from Chicago to St. Louis to Springfield later this afternoon and evening.
-
Memorial Day Weather for "Founding" Towns
May 28, 2012; 9:01 AM ET
Officially, Waterloo, N.Y., is the birthplace of Memorial Day, however, many towns in the U.S. claim the honor of being the first.
-
Atlantic Hurricane Forecast: Storms Close to the Coast
May 28, 2012; 7:32 AM ET
AccuWeather's 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecasts 12 named tropical storms, five named hurricanes and two major hurricanes.
-
Beryl's Impacts on the Southeast
May 28, 2012; 5:25 AM ET
As Beryl moves into the Southeast, its impacts will be widespread. However, not all news will be bad.
Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 100° | Smyrna, TN |
| Low | 15° | Sunset Crater, AZ |
| Precip | 3.99" | Wadena, MN |
WeatherWhys®
Hail is much more common during the months of May and June compared to July and August. The main reason is the fact that the freezing level is usually higher during July and August as pockets of cold air in the upper atmosphere are less common as the jet stream weakens and retreats farther north.
This Day In Weather History
Leesburg, Va. (1982)
In Leesburg, a suburb of Washington, D.C., 2.20 inches of rain fell in 15 minutes.
Leesburg, Fla. (1989)
A lightning bolt tore a 4-foot-wide hole in the ceiling of a residential dining room and struck a 9-year-old boy between the shoulder blades. Although injured, the boy survived.
Rough Weather
Comments
Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.