Tag Archives: ice

NYC Weather Update – Dec 28, 2015

Freezing Rain, NYC, Outside of NYC, Rain, Snow, Storms, Tornadoes, Weather Update, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After an absurdly warm start to the winter, we are about to get a dose of proper weather for this time of year. While temperatures this week and the first half of January will still above normal in many cases, they will be considerably cooler than December and be closer to normal than not. This week, we start with a messy and complex storm (the same that spawned deadly tornadoes in Texas and has brought blizzard conditions to New Mexico, and an ice storm to Oklahoma) that affects the area tonight into Tuesday with a mix of rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow, depending on how far north you are. Yet another round rain and snow further north from the city is possible Wednesday.

Rest of today – seasonably cool with high temperatures only in the low-mid 40s. Increasing clouds ahead of a warm front that will be the focus for the precipitation later tonight. Things get interesting overnight as precipitation begins to spread over the area from southwest to northeast. Near the coast, surface temperatures are expected to remain warm enough (upper-30s) to largely preclude the possibility of significant wintry precipitation, however, sleet could mix in with rain to at the start of this storm before things shift over to all rain. Further west and north will be another story, with areas expecting anything between .25″ of ice to 2-4″ of snow/sleet accumulation before rain starts falling.

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Tuesday – as temperatures warm with daybreak, wintry precipitation should transition entirely to rain. Rain is expected to last throughout most of the morning into the early afternoon hours. East winds ahead of the warm front mentioned above will be in the 15-20mph range before shifting to the north. High temperatures in the city are expected to hit the upper-40s to around 50ºF.

Wednesday – we’ll get another shot at rain as the cold front railing the warm front pictured above pushes through late on Wednesday into the overnight hours. Despite increasing clouds, forecasts still call for high temperatures in the low-50s.

Thursday – a lingering chance of rain remains on the backside of the cold front. High temperatures are expected to be about the same as Wednesday near 50.

NYC Weather Update – Feb 8, 2015

Freezing Rain, NYC, Snow, Weather Update, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another messy start to the work week is in store for us tonight and into Monday night as we endure a long duration, though relatively light intensity winter storm. Luckily for us, the storm track means we’ll avoid the worst impacts of heavy snow (New England will get the worst of it again). There’s some concern for icing again, although the impact should be slightly less serious than last Monday. The rest of the week will be precipitation free, with the exception of some snow showers possible Thursday. Following these snow showers, another shot of brutally cold Arctic air is expected by week’s end, such that highs will only be in the low 20s and even upper teens.

Monday – as you can see from below, the snowfall totals for the southern portion of the NYC area are on the very low end, only 1-2″ expected in NYC and in Long Island. The higher snowfall totals will be north of I-84 and into Connecticut, with the far northern suburbs getting a chance at over 6″. Bear in mind, the snow is expected over an extended period starting tonight through Monday night.

Storm total snow forecast
Storm total snow forecast

Ice is a bigger concern for the immediate coastal areas that will see less snow. High temperatures during the day Monday be below freezing, so freezing rain is expected and could deposit between 0.15″-0.25″ of ice when all is said and done. The majority of this is expected to fall Monday morning before temperatures cool off at the coast and precipitation switches back to all snow.

Storm total ice forecast
Storm total ice forecast

Tuesday – high temperatures should be right around freezing with clouds diminishing through the day as the storm system from Monday pulls to the east.

Wednesday – a sunny day expected with highs again near freezing.

Thursday – we get our next chance at snow, on the light side, with a passing low pressure system forming over the Great Lakes and moving east towards us high temperatures will be again around freezing.

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Friday –  a sunny, but frigid day with highs expected to only be in the upper teens and low 20s. As you can see from the chart above, to the west of the low affecting our area on Thursday, there is an area of high pressure which will usher in that reinforcing blast of Arctic air.

Really Cool Graphic – Frozen Great Lakes

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It may be spring now, but it certainly doesn’t look or feel that way for the Great Lakes, most of which are still ice-bound. Superior, Huron, and Erie are still almost entirely covered by ice, while Michigan is less than half covered. The only lake not ice-bound this winter has been Ontario at the far-right. Image from LANCE MODIS taken on March 16th.

You may be wondering why Lake Ontario is the exception to the frosty rule here. Ontario’s average depth is about 283 feet, only Superior has a greater average depth (Erie is the shallowest, so even though it’s further south than Ontario, it’s often the first to freeze). Furthermore, Ontario is located at a lower latitude than Superior and Huron, and it’s relatively smaller surface area maximizes its heat retention.

GreatLakes.A2014075.1830.1km