Northeast storm bringing rain and snow into Saturday
A storm will bring rain to major Northeast cities and wet snow to locations farther inland into Saturday, with flight delays and isolated high-elevation power outages possible.
Coastal regions of the Northeast could be inundated with rain and flooding while regions farther inland are expected to experience a wintry mix with some of the higher elevations receiving snow.
A storm that originated from the Midwest has reached waters off the mid-Atlantic coast and will continue to bring rain, snow and travel slowdowns to the Northeast into this weekend as it pulls away and the atmosphere becomes colder.
With no Arctic air mass moving into the region, cooling within the storm itself has been and will continue to be key to producing snow across inland locations. The low pressure area near the ground will interact with a storm several miles above it, at the altitude where commercial jets fly.
This image, captured on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 12, 2026, shows an elongated mass of clouds associated with a storm moving from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic coast. Clouds in the Midwest (left) were being influenced by colder air and were producing showers. Clouds in the Northeast (right) were influenced by warm air and were producing severe thunderstorms in some locations. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
Precipitation began as rain in most areas on Thursday. Some areas even experienced rare November thunderstorms and severe weather, including hail covering the ground in a few locations and at least one visually documented tornado.
Quick cooling associated with the storm aloft has allowed rain to switch over to snow across much of upstate New York. Rain mixing with wet snow is expected for much of the Great Lakes and over the higher terrain from eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina to Maine into Friday.
Rain is expected in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. Some wet snowflakes can mix in over the northern and western suburbs of New York City and in Boston Friday morning.
Periods of rain, low clouds and even thunderstorm activity could cause flight delays into Saturday morning, with timing varying by location.
Snow-related fog and aircraft deicing could also cause delays at some inland airports at higher elevations.
Higher-elevation communities such as Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, and Hamilton, New York, were being blanketed with wet snow Friday morning.
Several inches or more of wet, clinging snow could accumulate across parts of West Virginia, northeast Pennsylvania, the Catskills, the Adirondacks and the Green and White Mountains, with significant accumulations possible on the ridges. The greatest accumulations are expected across portions of New York, as well as southern Vermont, where 6-12 inches is forecast. The weight of the snow could break tree limbs and cause isolated power outages.
As the storm pulls away late Friday night into Saturday, around the time when the storm might behave a bit more like a nor'easter, additional strengthening and cooling could allow accumulating wet snow to spread to western and central Massachusetts, western Connecticut, southern New Hampshire and perhaps part of coastal Maine.
Areas north and west of this zone will pick up coatings at low elevations and up to several inches in intermediate and higher terrain.
Limited coastal flooding risk won't bring major nor'easter impacts
This storm will differ significantly from storms earlier this autumn that crawled along the Atlantic Seaboard and created strong northeast winds and raised tides for days. The prior storms resulted in long-duration moderate to major coastal flooding and beach erosion.
Bernard Dowd walks on a flooded street during a nor'easter on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Sea Bright, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
This will not be one of those storms. Because the current storm has been landlocked for much of its journey, it will not have much time to generate onshore winds and above-normal tides. Astronomical tides are relatively low and will not be a significant factor as the moon progresses toward the first quarter phase. High astronomical tides played a major role in coastal flooding during prior coastal storms this autumn.
Strengthening northeast winds with rain or snow are what typically define a nor'easter. With the storm finally over the Atlantic, developing northeast winds may briefly bring nor'easter conditions to part of the upper mid-Atlantic and New England coasts.
As the storm moves out to sea, strengthening west-to-northwest winds could briefly push water away from some east-facing shorelines, producing lower-than-normal water levels. The same winds could push some water toward the west-facing shorelines of the back bays, but not to the extent of prior storms this fall.
Blustery and chilly conditions will follow the storm this weekend. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be mainly in the 20s and 30s. Actual highs will be less extreme, or 5-10 degrees below the historical average, which generally ranges from the mid-40s to the mid-50s.
The Great Lakes produce dangerous waves this time of year. Geoff Cornish explains how these lakes create the conditions favorable for strong storms that led to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Snow showers will persist over the mountains, with some narrow bands of lake-effect rain and wet snow also developing by Saturday.
For many parts of the eastern third of the nation, conditions from Friday to Sunday will bring the lowest temperatures of the season so far, and in many cases since last March. The first widespread frosts and freezes of the season are in store for the Southeastern states.
Following the winterlike conditions this weekend, an extended stretch of dry, sunny weather is ahead for the new week, with a gradual day-to-day warming trend.
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