Signs of winter are not far off the horizon across the Northeast. An Alberta clipper system that will bring snow to portions of the Plains and Midwest will spread into the interior Northeast Wednesday night and into Thursday.This will not be a blockbuster storm by any means, but the first flakes of the season are always a reason to get excited (or upset) about the upcoming winter season.The clipper system will begin to track into the eastern Great Lakes as early as Wednesday night. A cold rain with temperatures in the upper 30s F can be expected for places like Erie,
Pennsylvania and Buffalo,
New York, as the storm approaches.
As the center of the storm system continues to track into New
England into Thursday, winds will shift out of the north, funneling cold air into the region. Places that started off with a cold rain Wednesday night will begin to have wet snowflakes mixing in and temperatures dropping into Thursday."This wintry mix could lead to slushy and slippery travel conditions, especially for Thursday morning's commute." AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert stated. "For those traveling on interstates 81, 87, 89 and 91, some extra time may be needed to account for adverse conditions." Gilbert added.With the cold air in place, it is possible some of the snow could stick to area roadways for a time leading to slick spots. The first snow of the season commonly brings along an uptick in automobile accidents, so just remember to take it slow in ice and snow.As the storm tracks into northern New England on Thursday, cold enough air should be in place to allow for most precipitation to fall as snow. Snowfall accumulations will be generally light, from a coating to an inch or two in spots before the storm departs Thursday evening.The Adirondacks, as well as the Green and White Mountains across interior New England would be the most likely candidates for a couple inches of snow as this system passes through.The upcoming cold and snowy weather may have many people taking the ski and snowboard equipment out of storage for the season. With the persistent cold in place, some ski resorts may be able to turn on the snowmakers to get a head start on a good base snowpack. Multiple ski resorts are projecting their opening dates to come before
Thanksgiving this season.
Beyond the clipper system Wednesday night and Thursday across the interior Northeast, a continued cold and possibly active pattern may be in the cards across the region. A storm system that will develop in the southern Plains at midweek will bring soaking rain to many across the South and Southeast.
As the storm tracks eastward towards the Atlantic coastline, exact details on the storm track continue to remain up for debate. Out of the possible scenarios, a track farther north could bring accumulating snowfall across a much wider and more populated swath of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
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