NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — New York City will be soggy Tuesday as a fast-moving winter storm brings heavy snow north and east of the city, raising the risk of airline delays and snarling ground traffic across the interior Northeast.
Rains are likely to arrive in New York by 10 a.m. as the storm system overwhelms dry air hanging over the city. Some wet snow is possible earlier in the day, according to the National Weather Service, but it’s unlikely to accumulate on city streets and roads.
By contrast, a large area — including the central Hudson River Valley and New England — may get nine to 12 inches (23 to 30 centimeters).
The heavy snow will strike at some major highways across the region, as well as potentially delaying air travel in the larger cities. As of 9 a.m. in New York, 1,595 flights were delayed around the US, with another 123 canceled, according to FlightAware.
Winter weather advisories and storm warnings stretch from North Carolina to Maine’s border with New Brunswick, as the fast-moving system is forecast to run up along the coast. A yellow snowfall warning — indicating a moderate impact — has been issued across much of Nova Scotia, as well as parts of Ontario, by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“All the big cities are missing it today,” Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center, said of the storm’s biggest effects. “It is moving pretty quick. Even though it will snow hard today, it won’t be a storm that lasts forever.”
In New York City, the rain is forecast to taper off late Tuesday, and Wednesday will be sunny with a high of 41F (5C) expected before a blast of colder air arrives later in the week. Thursday night’s low is expected to dip to 20F.
Boston will likely see snow overnight, turning to slush early Wednesday morning as gusty winds sweep the city.
Oravec said frigid air will push into the Great Lakes as the storm exits, and some of that will come east. Temperatures in Chicago are forecast to drop to 4F Thursday night, he said. There is a chance many cold records will be tied or broken at about 75 weather stations across the region on Thursday and Friday.
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