Feb 14, 2007 8:16 am US/Eastern
Valentine's Day Storm: The Worst Is Still To Come
by John Elliott
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Weather advisories are in effect for much of our area today.
CBS
-
-
A mix of conditions will blanket the Tri-State area throughout the day.
CBS
The first major Nor'easter of the year is making a mess of area roadways and is causing major commuter headaches on this Valentine's Day.
Snow, ice, sleet, rain, flooding, damaging winds and bitter temperatures pelted our area this morning. What types of precipitation you saw depended on where you live.
But everybody will be impacted on Wednesday.
For a large portion of the area, significant icing will be a problem throughout the day. We generally don't see this type of storm in this region, but beware: They're the most damaging and most dangerous type of winter storm.
What looked like rain all morning could actually be ice. With temperatures in the upper 20s in some areas, rain could freeze on anything it comes in contact with.
Be especially careful of black ice as you make your way outside.
New York City, Northeastern New Jersey, Long Island & Coastal ConnecticutThis Morning we saw a mixed bag of precipitation. Generally sleet has been falling for most of the morning hours. Rain is starting to make a move towards the south shore of Long Island and parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Where this rain/sleet line sets up shop throughout the morning will play a huge part in conditions.
Long Island looks like it will mostly be a rain event. Currently, they do have some freezing rain and sleet falling, but a changeover to rain will occur during the morning hours before changing back to freezing rain/sleet then snow by the time it finally wraps up.
The snow will taper off at night, but not before an additional 2 to 4 inches could fall. At night, temperatures will drop into the teens, and roads are very likely to freeze over.
Northwest New Jersey, The Hudson Valley & Interior ConnecticutAccumulations will generally be 2 to 4 inches this morning (perhaps more in the Catskills.) It's going to a be a brutal Valentine's Day with temperatures stuck in the 20s and blizzard-like conditions at times. Toward mid-day, it is possible some sleet and freezing rain will mix in. The more sleet and freezing rain we see, the lower that the snow accumulations will be.
But by afternoon, any mixed precipitation will change back to snow, and another 4 to 6 inches of snow are possible (again, more in the Catskills.) By the time all is said and done, expect snow totals to be in the 6-to-12-inch range. However, if you live north and west of places like Sparta, Middletown, Newburgh and Danbury, don't be surprised to see more than a foot.
The snow will wind down Wednesday night. But strong winds will keep blowing and drifting the snow well into Thursday. Also, temperatures will be tumbling into the teens and single digits by Thursday morning with dangerously cold wind chills.
Flash freezing will occur this afternoon into this evening as temperatures quickly plummet up to 15 degrees in eight hours. With temperatures cooling quickly along with gusty winds, power lines and roads will quickly freeze over leaving dangerous driving conditions as well as probable power outages.
Stay tuned to CBS 2 and WCBSTV.com for all the latest on this winter weather.
Send Us Your Winter Weather Photos!
WEATHER |
TRAFFIC |
TRANSIT & TRAVEL SCHOOL CLOSINGS & DELAYS WHEN NECESSARY
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Wind Chill Survival Guide
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Better Late Than Never: Isles End 7-Game Slide 5 mins ago
LIRR Changes Service For Wednesday's Snowfall 32 mins ago 
NYS Senate Votes To Immediately Expel Monserrate 58 mins ago 
Stumble It!
Comments