Lake-effect snow squalls to accompany brief blast of Arctic air in Northeast
By
Kyle Elliott, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Feb 19, 2020 11:45 AM EDT
Road conditions became dangerous in Rochester, New York, on the morning of Feb. 18, as snow, sleet and ice came down on the unfortunate drivers.
Following another stretch of mild weather, a brief shot of Arctic air will return to the Northeast during the second half of the week and be accompanied by narrow, but intense, lake-effect snow squalls.
Temperatures in Philadelphia reached the 50s on Monday and 60s on Tuesday, with highs near 50 reaching as far north as Boston. Even in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, highs on Tuesday were at or above the 50 F mark.
However, a cold front that recently moved through ushered in much colder conditions in the Great Lakes region and interior Northeast on Wednesday and will reach the coastal Northeast by Thursday.
Thursday will be the most harsh day in the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and New England. Highs on the coldest day this week will be some 20 to 30 degrees below what they were on the warmest day earlier in the week in most spots.
When compared to normal for late February, temperatures will be about 10 to 15 degrees below normal across the Upper Midwest, northern Great Lakes region and New England, and about 5 to 10 degrees below normal from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic.
Lows on Friday morning will fall below zero in northern New England, into the single digits between the Interstate 80 and I-90 corridors and into the lower 20s in the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
"Without much wind to accompany the cold, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will not be too far below the actual air temperature reading," AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Travis said. "During the day, when the sun is shining, RealFeel® Temperatures may actually be a little higher than the actual air temperature."
In comparison to the blast of Arctic air that froze the central and eastern parts of the nation late last week, the lowest temperatures with this shot of Arctic air should be about 5-10 degrees higher. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be considerably higher than that given the lack of strong winds.
"Even though this Arctic outbreak will not be as intense as late last week, it will last a little while longer," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Sosnowski added that this cold outbreak will last between two and three days in any one location, whereas the blast from last week was limited to one or two days.
Still, people heading out the door to work or school this week should make sure to wear protective layers and gloves to prevent the chance of frostbite.
In addition to the cold, an added danger with this cold blast will be narrow but intense and persistent bands of lake-effect snow downwind of lakes Superior, Ontario and Erie.
Cities such as Springville, Warsaw and Syracuse, New York, will receive the worst squalls into Thursday.
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Since winds will generally be northwesterly Thursday, areas not typically hit the hardest by lake-effect snow will get targeted this week.
Syracuse may receive as much as 6 or more inches of snow through Thursday morning with the narrow band of snow expected to set up right over the city.
As is typically the case with lake-effect snow, a distance of only 5-10 miles can separate nearly 1 foot of snow from virtually no snow at all.
Motorists traveling on portions of I-81 and I-90 in western New York should be prepared for rapid reductions in roadway visibility and drastically reduce speed in potentially white-out conditions.
This radar image shows light snow (light blue) and heavy snow (dark blue) over parts of New York state at 11:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb, 19, 2020. (AccuWeather)
Although the lake-effect snow bands will be narrow, the sudden shift of traveling on dry roads and in ideal visibility to encountering snow-covered roads and near-zero visibility can increase the risk of multi-vehicle pileups.
By Thursday night and Friday, high pressure moving over the Ohio River Valley will force very dry air into the Northeast, in effect shutting off the lake-effect snow machine.
As the high pressure moves into the western Atlantic, southwesterly winds will bring milder air building in the center of the nation on Friday back into the Northeast just in time for the weekend.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Weather News
Lake-effect snow squalls to accompany brief blast of Arctic air in Northeast
By Kyle Elliott, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Feb 19, 2020 11:45 AM EDT
Road conditions became dangerous in Rochester, New York, on the morning of Feb. 18, as snow, sleet and ice came down on the unfortunate drivers.
Following another stretch of mild weather, a brief shot of Arctic air will return to the Northeast during the second half of the week and be accompanied by narrow, but intense, lake-effect snow squalls.
Temperatures in Philadelphia reached the 50s on Monday and 60s on Tuesday, with highs near 50 reaching as far north as Boston. Even in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, highs on Tuesday were at or above the 50 F mark.
However, a cold front that recently moved through ushered in much colder conditions in the Great Lakes region and interior Northeast on Wednesday and will reach the coastal Northeast by Thursday.
Thursday will be the most harsh day in the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and New England. Highs on the coldest day this week will be some 20 to 30 degrees below what they were on the warmest day earlier in the week in most spots.
When compared to normal for late February, temperatures will be about 10 to 15 degrees below normal across the Upper Midwest, northern Great Lakes region and New England, and about 5 to 10 degrees below normal from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic.
Lows on Friday morning will fall below zero in northern New England, into the single digits between the Interstate 80 and I-90 corridors and into the lower 20s in the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
"Without much wind to accompany the cold, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will not be too far below the actual air temperature reading," AccuWeather Meteorologist Courtney Travis said. "During the day, when the sun is shining, RealFeel® Temperatures may actually be a little higher than the actual air temperature."
In comparison to the blast of Arctic air that froze the central and eastern parts of the nation late last week, the lowest temperatures with this shot of Arctic air should be about 5-10 degrees higher. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be considerably higher than that given the lack of strong winds.
"Even though this Arctic outbreak will not be as intense as late last week, it will last a little while longer," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
Sosnowski added that this cold outbreak will last between two and three days in any one location, whereas the blast from last week was limited to one or two days.
Still, people heading out the door to work or school this week should make sure to wear protective layers and gloves to prevent the chance of frostbite.
In addition to the cold, an added danger with this cold blast will be narrow but intense and persistent bands of lake-effect snow downwind of lakes Superior, Ontario and Erie.
Cities such as Springville, Warsaw and Syracuse, New York, will receive the worst squalls into Thursday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Since winds will generally be northwesterly Thursday, areas not typically hit the hardest by lake-effect snow will get targeted this week.
Syracuse may receive as much as 6 or more inches of snow through Thursday morning with the narrow band of snow expected to set up right over the city.
As is typically the case with lake-effect snow, a distance of only 5-10 miles can separate nearly 1 foot of snow from virtually no snow at all.
Related:
Motorists traveling on portions of I-81 and I-90 in western New York should be prepared for rapid reductions in roadway visibility and drastically reduce speed in potentially white-out conditions.
This radar image shows light snow (light blue) and heavy snow (dark blue) over parts of New York state at 11:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb, 19, 2020. (AccuWeather)
Although the lake-effect snow bands will be narrow, the sudden shift of traveling on dry roads and in ideal visibility to encountering snow-covered roads and near-zero visibility can increase the risk of multi-vehicle pileups.
By Thursday night and Friday, high pressure moving over the Ohio River Valley will force very dry air into the Northeast, in effect shutting off the lake-effect snow machine.
As the high pressure moves into the western Atlantic, southwesterly winds will bring milder air building in the center of the nation on Friday back into the Northeast just in time for the weekend.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo