Unbelievable and Unusual Northeastern Snowstorm
After seeing several inches (and in some spots even up to around a foot) of snow over the past few days from one coastal storm, parts the Northeast are getting yet another behemoth helping of heavy, wet snow from yet a second, much more unique system. This storm, also a coastal storm, is not like the typical Northeast snowstorms which ride the jet stream quickly up the coast and then speed out into the North Atlantic, taking a day or less in any one spot to dump snow and then move on. This system is actually running into, what we call in the weather world, a block. In other words, the highway of air that the storm usually would travel on has become bottled up. Therefore, the storm has virtually stopped in its tracks near Cape Cod, MA and is slowly plodding back westward toward New York City, getting prepared to meander around the New England through the weekend. Unfortunately for folks in the Northeast, the storm will also be at its most intense point over the next 12 hours as it is lollygagging. The silver lining is, though, thereafter it will be gradually weakening.
The strange and very sluggish movement of the storm, along with its tropical moisture connection have made for a very unusual pattern of weather across the entire Northeast. For the time being, with the storm barely moving and basically at its strongest point, its counter-clockwise circulation has had plenty of time to drag warm air from the south up on its eastern, and now also northern, side and on its western and southern side, colder air has had ample time to filter in from the north.
This means, as opposed to a typical East Coast snowstorm, where areas north and west, primarily inland, typically get the heaviest snow, places up north like Boston, MA and well-inland in the mountains like Albany, NY, Springfield, MA, and even Burlington, VT have been seeing mainly just a cold, soaking rain. Head farther south and places like New York City, Binghamton, NY, and Atlantic City, NJ have been getting pasted with very heavy amounts of wet snow with Winter Storm Warnings extending as far south as the Delmarva!
National Weather Service Advisories Map, Source: NOAA
As the storm wraps in more cold air around its southern and eastern side, many locales seeing rain will finally transition to snow from southwest to northeast on Friday! Fortunately, though, the storm should be weakening at this point, meaning lesser snow totals, but folks seeing all snow for this one, with nearly two feet of freshly-fallen white stuff already on the ground, will be measuring it with a yardstick by the time the snow gradually tapers off Sunday.
Storm Total Snowfall Forecast For New York City Area, Image: NOAA