Winter weather alert: Snow, ice may disrupt weekend travelers in parts of Northeast
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Nov 19, 2019 6:38 PM EDT
A sneaky storm with rain may tap into just enough fresh cold air to produce some snow and ice on its northern flank as it pushes into the northeastern United States this weekend.
A small batch of cold air from central Canada is forecast to slice across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast during Friday and Friday night.
While that press of cold air may trigger a couple of spotty snow showers over western and northern New York state, northern Pennsylvania and northern and western New England as it first arrives, an approaching storm with rain from the south could cause more regional trouble for travelers along portions of the Interstate 81, 84, 86, 87, 88 and 90 corridors this weekend.
"It looks like a close call this far out as temperatures will be marginal on the northern flank should the storm reach across the central Appalachians," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said on Tuesday.
Temperatures will be mainly in the 30s F in this swath. However, while air temperatures may be just above freezing near the ground, temperatures at critical layers in the atmosphere may allow snow and sleet to fall or a mixture of snow, sleet and rain for a time. On colder surfaces, patches of ice may form, which can be an added hazard for motorists.
Snow may fall from part of east-central Indiana to northwestern Ohio, the southeastern corner of Michigan and southern Ontario during the day Saturday.
The storm has the potential to be a player in area football games this weekend, including the Big Ten football matchup between Ohio State and Penn State in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. The storm is likely to start off as rain during the game in the Columbus area during Saturday afternoon, but snow may mix in later in the day or as people head home. There's a chance of a few snowflakes or a dash of sleet Saturday midday.
Into Saturday evening, rain is likely to fall from southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky to much of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, central and southern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York state and southern New England.
However, a period of more substantial snow is possible as the storm regroups before moving out on Sunday.
As the storm begins to shift eastward and then strengthen late Saturday night to Sunday, rain may end as a period of moderate snow or a wintry mix in parts of the eastern Ohio Valley, central Appalachians and southern New England.
The best chance for several inches of snow appears to be from the Berkshires of western Massachusetts northeastward through Vermont, New Hampshire and central Maine on Sunday.
It is possible that rain may end as a period of wet snow all the way to the upper mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts on Sunday.
"After all, it is late November and storms that bring a combination of rain, ice and snow or a bit of snow at the tail end over the central Appalachians and even the coastal Northeast are not uncommon this time of the year," Dombek said.
How cold the air gets and how far north the storm is able to track into the cold air will determine the amount of snow and ice, if any, versus rain from part of the Ohio Valley to the central Appalachians and coastal Northeast.
Even where plain rain falls for the storm's duration, the wet conditions can slow motorists down and reduce visibility and increase emergency stopping distance.
A storm that follows during next week has the potential to produce a large swath of winterlike weather including the chance of heavy snow, strong winds and a freeze-up centered around Wednesday, which is the worst travel day of the Thanksgiving season in lieu of weather conditions.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Winter weather alert: Snow, ice may disrupt weekend travelers in parts of Northeast
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Nov 19, 2019 6:38 PM EDT
A sneaky storm with rain may tap into just enough fresh cold air to produce some snow and ice on its northern flank as it pushes into the northeastern United States this weekend.
A small batch of cold air from central Canada is forecast to slice across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast during Friday and Friday night.
While that press of cold air may trigger a couple of spotty snow showers over western and northern New York state, northern Pennsylvania and northern and western New England as it first arrives, an approaching storm with rain from the south could cause more regional trouble for travelers along portions of the Interstate 81, 84, 86, 87, 88 and 90 corridors this weekend.
"It looks like a close call this far out as temperatures will be marginal on the northern flank should the storm reach across the central Appalachians," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Dombek said on Tuesday.
Temperatures will be mainly in the 30s F in this swath. However, while air temperatures may be just above freezing near the ground, temperatures at critical layers in the atmosphere may allow snow and sleet to fall or a mixture of snow, sleet and rain for a time. On colder surfaces, patches of ice may form, which can be an added hazard for motorists.
Snow may fall from part of east-central Indiana to northwestern Ohio, the southeastern corner of Michigan and southern Ontario during the day Saturday.
The storm has the potential to be a player in area football games this weekend, including the Big Ten football matchup between Ohio State and Penn State in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. The storm is likely to start off as rain during the game in the Columbus area during Saturday afternoon, but snow may mix in later in the day or as people head home. There's a chance of a few snowflakes or a dash of sleet Saturday midday.
Into Saturday evening, rain is likely to fall from southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky to much of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, central and southern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York state and southern New England.
However, a period of more substantial snow is possible as the storm regroups before moving out on Sunday.
As the storm begins to shift eastward and then strengthen late Saturday night to Sunday, rain may end as a period of moderate snow or a wintry mix in parts of the eastern Ohio Valley, central Appalachians and southern New England.
Related:
The best chance for several inches of snow appears to be from the Berkshires of western Massachusetts northeastward through Vermont, New Hampshire and central Maine on Sunday.
It is possible that rain may end as a period of wet snow all the way to the upper mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts on Sunday.
"After all, it is late November and storms that bring a combination of rain, ice and snow or a bit of snow at the tail end over the central Appalachians and even the coastal Northeast are not uncommon this time of the year," Dombek said.
How cold the air gets and how far north the storm is able to track into the cold air will determine the amount of snow and ice, if any, versus rain from part of the Ohio Valley to the central Appalachians and coastal Northeast.
Even where plain rain falls for the storm's duration, the wet conditions can slow motorists down and reduce visibility and increase emergency stopping distance.
A storm that follows during next week has the potential to produce a large swath of winterlike weather including the chance of heavy snow, strong winds and a freeze-up centered around Wednesday, which is the worst travel day of the Thanksgiving season in lieu of weather conditions.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo