NEW YORK — Storms are impacting the Northeast on Saturday, and it is likely to be a blustery weekend from the mid-Atlantic to New England following a wet week in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
This comes as a large and powerful area of a low-pressure system continues to move away from the U.S., the FOX Forecast Center said. Cold air behind the storm allows rain to switch to wet snow across the higher elevations of the Northeast, most notably across far western New York.
“It is really locations in New York, all the way up to Vermont and New Hampshire and Maine, where we are just getting hammered,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith said. “Snow levels dropping down to about 4,000 to 5,000 feet in elevation. So some spots pick up a few inches, others a little bit more than that.”
The Adirondacks and the Green and White Mountains are some locations where decent snowfall will persist through the evening, especially at higher elevations. Eventually, clearing from west to east will take place.
EL NINO LIKELY IN FINAL WEEKS AS WORLD AWAITS LA NINA AND POTENTIAL JOLT TO HURRICANE SEASON
At most, only a few inches of accumulation is expected before the snow ends Saturday evening, the FOX Forecast Center said. Elsewhere, it’ll be another blustery day with wind gusts topping 40 mph from the mid-Atlantic to New England.
“The winds are breezy, and unfortunately, that just means that it’s not going to be the best day to be outside for any extended period of time, especially if you live in New England,” Smith said.
While Saturday will feel wintry, Sunday will see the switch flip as a new, smaller system approaches the region. While this storm may be small, it will bring big impacts.
From late afternoon into the evening, isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms are possible across eastern Indiana and into the Northeast. Damaging winds should be the primary hazard, but a tornado or two and large hail are also possible.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has issued a level 2 out of 5 severe storm threat, affecting nearly 6 million people in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Altoona in Pennsylvania and Canton and Youngstown in Ohio.
Although flooding rain is not expected, it’ll fall on western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two areas still reeling from flooding on Thursday night.