(AP & WXXI News) Millions of people across the eastern U.S. are preparing for a wintry mix of precipitation as a potent storm system looks to bring snow, freezing rain and ice to the region.
The system is expected to reach North Carolina by Saturday morning and then track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend. It could bring to Philadelphia and other major cities amounts of snow not seen in several years.
The heaviest snowfall is expected in regions including the Poconos in Pennsylvania, parts of the Hudson Valley and portions of New England. However, winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout much of the Northeast.
The immediate Rochester area is not expected to see a lot of snow from this storm. Meteorologist Josh Nichols is expecting about a 2 – 4” accumulation over the weekend.
But there is a Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service for counties including Seneca, Steuben and Yates, and there is a Winter Weather Advisory for other parts of the Finger Lakes including Livingston, Ontario and Wayne counties.
A snowfall drought has been setting records across the eastern U.S. — and this storm may end it in some cities. For the number of consecutive days with less than an inch of snow, Philadelphia reached 705 days through Friday — beating the prior record of 661 days that ended on Dec. 15, 1973.
New York City went 691 days through Friday, outstripping the prior record of 383 days that ended on March 21, 1998. Baltimore reached 707 days through Friday, a record, with a prior record of 672 days that ended on Dec. 25, 2012.
Temperatures have been warmer than normal, making it hard for precipitation to fall as snow. Some storms that recently tracked through the Northeast were carrying warm air from the South and moisture that fell as rain, Stachelski said.
El Nino effects also played a role, he said, by preventing cold air from getting into the East long enough to interact with moisture that storms are bringing, which is key for precipitation to fall as snow.
Pedro DiNezio, associate professor of oceanic and atmospheric science at the University of Colorado Boulder, said the pattern of rain - rather than snow - in the fall and winter has been predicted by climate models.
"It will snow less frequently and more of the storms will dump rain as opposed to snow in the U.S. Northeast," he said.
