Bornomalanews: The next few days are shaping up to be a roller coaster ride of weather, with record-breaking highs in the forecast Wednesday ahead of a winter storm that could bring significant snowfall and blizzard-like conditions to parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Storm Team 4 says.
A blizzard warning has been issued for Suffolk County Thursday, when a powerful system is expected to swoop into the area and drop up to a foot of snow over a period of six to eight hours. The rest of the tri-state area is under a winter storm warning from Wednesday night through Thursday
New York City public schools will be closed Thursday for the storm, the mayor's office says.
The storm is expected to cripple travel by ground and air, with conditions deteriorating rapidly as the rate of snowfall increases over the course of the morning. According to the National Weather Service, snow could fall at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, with more than 2 inches per hour possible in spots. Wind gusts are expected to reach up to 35 mph, with the strongest gusts along the coast, where meteorologists say near-blizzard conditions are possible.
Over 2,000 flights across the U.S. were already canceled for Thursday, including more than 200 each at LaGuardia, Newark and Kennedy airports.
Visibility is expected to be only a half to a quarter mile at times, making for hazardous travel conditions early Thursday through the afternoon. Snow is expected to begin falling anywhere from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., with the heaviest snow likely from 7 a.m. through noon, Storm Team 4 says.
Eight to 12 inches of snow could fall on New York City, Nassau County, New Jersey, Connecticut and the Hudson Valley. The very eastern end of Suffolk County and the Jersey Shore are more likely to see 4 to 8 inches of snow.
New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said at an afternoon news briefing the storm was expected to be extremely dangerous and the city was preparing accordingly. Earlier, the agency said that it would assign 2,400 workers per shift to 12-hour shifts starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Sixteen hundred plows are on standby and nearly 700 salt spreaders will be pre-treating roads and sidewalks ahead of the storm. Alternate side parking is suspended in New York City Thursday. Meter rules remain in effect.
New York City public schools would remain open.
Widespread power outages are also possible as snow weighs on tree limbs and power lines. The threat for power outages will be less where temperatures are mostly below 30 degrees during the snow, meteorologists say.
The warm weather won't last, though.
Storm Team 4 says that after the winter storm passes, temperatures will drop into the 20s on Friday. Windy weather will make it feel even colder.
Temperatures will warm a little this weekend, with highs in the 40s under mostly cloudy skies. Sprinkles are possible Saturday and rain is likely Sunday.
