The FOX Forecast Center is tracking the potential for snow in the Northeast this weekend, but much like every other winter storm this season, the system will fail to amount to much in the major cities.
As has been the case for most of the winter, moisture and cold air have not been in sync – meaning that when precipitation has fallen, it has mostly done so in the liquid variety because air temperatures are simply too warm.
The storm system will approach the region on Friday and exit by Sunday morning. Forecasters will be paying a close eye to about a 36-hour period when there could be enough cold air intrusion to make flakes fly in some of the major cities in the Northeast.
Areas of the interior region stand to pick up the most with the potential for 3–5 inches from Buffalo, New York, to State College, Pennsylvania and cities eastward to New York’s capital city.
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Areas to the south and east along the coast are slated to see substantially less.
The heaviest snowfall event to impact New York City over the winter happened in late February when 1.8″ fell over Central Park. The lack of snowfall has caused an overall snowfall deficit to balloon to around 2 feet, and it remains a question on whether the weekend system with muster up enough cold air and frozen precipitation to even beat February’s minuscule amounts.
Chances of measurable snowfall from the upcoming event decrease even further as you head south along Interstate 95 from the Big Apple.
Both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., who are dealing with snowfall deficits of around 17 inches, stand not to pick up any snowfall from the weekend storm system.
Forecast models show air temperatures are too warm for snow, with expected lows in the mid to upper 30s.
As long as snowfall amounts remain light in Boston and New York, the winter wonderland will be primarily an inconvenience for travelers and will spare communities from significant disruptions.
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NOAA expects a colder pattern to develop for a large part of the East in March, which could be a solution for winter weather lovers if there is enough precipitation to take advantage of the colder air.
If March ends on a snowless note, the chances for measurable snow decrease tremendously during April as average high temperatures reach the 50s and 60s across most of the northern tier of the country.