NEW YORK (PIX11) — A complex storm system is creating a mess across the tri-state region and is taking its time before it departs. While it will be mainly a rain event for the coast and New York City, there may be a time when it changes over to snow. Accumulations will be tough since the ground temperature will be too warm. That being said, to the north, where we expect to see colder temperatures, we will see the snow stick, and amounts may ramp up fairly quickly as we head further away from New York City.
Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories have been posted across northern areas where we expect it to snow enough to the point that it may be treacherous for travel. Meanwhile, along coastal sections, the winds will kick up. Gusts to over 45 mph will be possible as the low pressure offshore intensifies. Wind Advisories have been posted for South Jersey, Eastern Long Island and the Connecticut coastline through Wednesday since the storm is expected to meander off the New England Coast.
As the storm passes off the coast Monday night, the northeasterly winds will pile the water along the coastline during high tide. A Coastal Flood Advisory has been posted as tides are expected to run 1.5 feet above normal and cause some minor flooding at high tide.
For Monday evening, much of the region will be dealing with a cold rain. We expect temperatures to dip across northern areas late at night allowing for the changeover to snow to occur. For those northern areas, the snow will be wet, and it may come down heavy at times causing a strain on tree limbs and power lines. Some localized power outages may develop as a result. Along the coast, temperatures will remain above freezing and it should stay as rain.
Heading into Tuesday morning, colder air may get pulled down allowing for coastal sections to see some wet snow. As the ground temperature is expected to be warm, any accumulations will be hard to come by and will likely be limited to grassy areas. The storm system will linger around on Tuesday before the precipitation tapers off late in the day.
In terms of accumulations, coastal sections may see a coating to an inch of snow in spots, with most of it being limited to grassy surfaces. To the north, amounts are expected to ramp up pretty quickly. Across the highest areas of Northern New Jersey and the Lower Hudson Valley, expect snow amounts to approach 3 to 6 inches of snow. In the Catskills and points north, we expect well over 6 inches of snow in some cases.
While the precipitation may be over by Tuesday afternoon or evening, the storm will linger around off the coast of New England on Wednesday. That will keep the winds around, gusting toward 45 mph between Monday night and Wednesday. At least on Wednesday, the sun should return with temperatures in the mid 40s.
For the end of the week, expect temperatures to warm up nicely. Expect highs to be around 50 degrees on Thursday. Temperatures warm further up into the mid 50s by St. Patrick’s Day.
Clouds will be on the increase on Friday ahead of another storm system that may bring occasional showers late Friday night into Saturday. Expect highs to be around 50 degrees. On Sunday, temperatures will take a step back into the mid 40s under mostly sunny skies.
