New York City and the U.S. Northeast may have snow piling up again from a system that is expected to move up the coast starting tomorrow, only forecasters aren’t yet able to estimate the extent of the falls.
The storm’s exact track is still uncertain and that path will determine its impact on New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other cities and towns along the Interstate 95 corridor. I-95 is a major highway that runs from Maine to Florida.
“The track of the low is not set in stone,” said John Christantello, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, New York. “The most likely scenario if for mixed precipitation, how much is going to be snow and how much is going to be rain still remains to be seen.”
Since the start of the season, New York and parts of the Northeast, including Boston, have been averaging more snow than normal. Central Park has received 16 inches (40.6 centimeters) since Jan. 1, which is 10 inches more than normal.
Since Dec. 1, 36.1 inches have fallen in Manhattan’s Central Park or 27.4 inches above normal, according to the weather service. At Boston’s Logan International Airport, 49.6 inches have fallen since Dec. 1, or 32.6 inches above normal, according to the weather service.
As the storm moves passed New York, cold air has the potential to wrap around it behind the system and change any rain to snow in the cities along the U.S. East Coast, said Matthew Rinde, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.
Rinde said that may mean 1 to 3 inches in Philadelphia and as much as 6 inches in New York.
No Warning Yet
Christantello said if the potential is there for an average of 6 inches of snow across any one county, the weather service will issue a winter storm warning for that area. However, he added, the weather service isn’t ready to commit just yet.
Rinde also said Boston may receive between 6 to 12 inches of snow from the storm, which will arrive there tomorrow night.
Last night, the weather service in Taunton, Massachusetts said Boston may have as much as 3 inches of new snow this morning. The official weather service forecast, as of 2 a.m. in Boston, was for the system coming up the East Coast tomorrow night to bring a rain, snow and sleet mix with 2 inches of precipitation.
With the oncoming system, the frigid cold temperatures that caused Amtrak to suspend passenger rail service between New York City and Albany have loosened its grip.
Rinde said the high temperature in New York will reach into the high 30s Fahrenheit. The weather service is calling for a high of 40 degrees with light snow falling throughout the day.
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