Snowflakes fly, accumulate across Northeast

Courtney Travis
·4 min read
4

Even though the Winter Solstice and the official start to winter is still over a week away, Mother Nature could bring an early taste of the season to many in the Northeast.

As wintry weather began to arrive early on Sunday, chilly conditions were already in place. Widespread temperatures in the 20s and 30s were found across Pennsylvania, New York and southern New England on Sunday morning, with localized spots dipping into the teens.

Throughout the morning snow spread even farther east, with flakes reaching the Hudson Valley and New Jersey suburbs of New York City.

In some places, the grass quickly became coated with a dusting of snow, like in the Binghamton and Oswego, New York area to Bradford and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Slick conditions were reported on side roads across central New York and northern Pennsylvania in Sunday afternoon.

Snow falls in the woods of the Catskills of southeastern New York on Sunday, December 11. (Twitter/@CatskillCritter)

Before the snow ends early Monday morning, widespread snow amounts of 1-3 inches are expected to be reported from northern Michigan to portions of southern New England. The highest snow accumulations are likely in the higher elevations, like the Poconos, Catskills and Berkshires. Skiers may jump for joy in these mountainous areas, as this is where the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is possible from the storm.

Slippery spots are likely to be the most widespread Sunday night or early Monday morning as temperatures drop to their lowest point. This is when snow could mix with rain in more southerly and coastal locations, and for some locations, this would be the first flakes of the season.

"Snowflakes are even expected to reach the coastal locations and New York City," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tyler Roys. In Pennsylvania, the northern and western suburbs of Philadelphia north to the Lehigh Valley and west to the Harrisburg area could see snow mixing in with rain showers through Sunday evening.

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It's not out of the question that, should the storm ramp up quickly on Sunday night, that a quick coating to an inch of snow could accumulate in this zone. The last time there were snowflakes in Manhattan was on March 27, and the last accumulating snow there was on March 9 when 0.4 of an inch fell. The last time there was accumulating snow in Philadelphia was Jan. 28-29, 2022, when 7.5 inches piled up.

Even with just a little bit of snow, stretches of I-80 and I-81 could be slippery and lead to slowed travel , especially late Sunday into Monday morning. Roadways through the higher terrain will be most susceptible to icy conditions, but slippery spots could even reach the coastal communities for the Monday morning commute.

Motorists heading to the major cities from the northern and western suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia, as well as the western suburbs of Boston, should be prepared for delays and allow themselves extra time to get to work on Monday, forecasters say.

Airline delays will be possible from Sunday evening to Monday morning due to deicing operations and poor visibility at some of the primary and secondary airports in the region.

As the storm moves out to sea, conditions should steadily improve during the midday and afternoon hours on Monday. Any accumulation of snow and slush in the I-95 zone should melt. However, untreated roads that remain wet could freeze up Monday evening.

AccuWeather meteorologists say that this storm may not be the only opportunity for snow for residents in the Northeast this week.

A major storm will be taking shape in the central U.S. Monday through Wednesday, bringing feet of snow and severe thunderstorms as the storm unfolds. This same storm is expected to lose intensity as it makes it to the eastern U.S. late in the week, but it could still bring wintry impacts.

"Disruption to travel could be a concern at the end of the week for the same major cities in the Northeast," Roys warned. Below-normal temperatures for mid-December are expected through much of the week, which could set the stage for snow across the interior Northeast and for snow to mix with rain closer to the coast.

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