The snow is coming to the northeast, but don’t fall for the hype

CNN
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The first snowflakes of the season will fly in parts of the Northeast as cool air and stormy weather finally filter into the region after weeks without them brought a historic drought and unusual fires.

But don’t expect a winter wonderland and don’t fall for the headlines and hype. Fall’s lingering unseasonable warmth will block any lingering snowy scenes unless you live on top of a mountain.

The storm that will bring the snow to the Northeast already brought it to parts of the Midwest. Chicago almost recorded 3 inches snow early Thursday, the city’s snowiest November day in five years, according to National Weather Service data.

Flares were still flying but began to slow down early Thursday afternoon elsewhere in Illinois and over parts of Indiana.

Parched areas of the Northeast have already received a round of much-needed rain, while parts of Pennsylvania and New York are bracing for the first batch of snow of the season.

Rain continuing in the region Thursday afternoon will gradually mix with and change to snow in high elevations of Pennsylvania and southern New York overnight. This wet snow will fall overnight and could be heavy at times before beginning to taper off Friday afternoon.

Any snow would have to fall heavily to accumulate more than an inch or so. That’s because the recent stretch of unwelcome heat in the Northeast has kept the ground much warmer than it should be in late November. It is difficult for snow to stick to and accumulate on surfaces that are not cold enough.

Areas at or above 1,500 feet in elevation will most likely see some accumulating snow, perhaps up to half a foot in the highest elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, New York.

Areas of lower elevation will have a different problem to contend with. Any wet snow that falls could melt quickly as it reaches the warm ground and form icy patches in areas where air temperatures drop below freezing later Thursday.

This can lead to slick patches on untreated roads, especially overnight.

Larger population centers like Philadelphia and New York City will likely stay out of the winter-like battle with any precipitation falling as rain.

Snow will also affect areas outside the immediate northeast. West Virginia’s mountains could get some of the highest totals of the event with snow expected to continue there through Friday and into part of Saturday.

Any snow that does manage to accumulate will likely melt quickly as high temperatures this weekend will reach the 40s and 50s for much of the Appalachians and Northeast.