Heavy snow is currently falling across parts of the Great Lakes and the interior Northeast, marking the first significant lake-effect snow event of the season. This snowfall is expected to persist until Wednesday morning. Travellers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland should be especially cautious as they may encounter snow squalls that could lead to sudden reductions in visibility and whiteout road conditions.
Forecasters were closely monitoring I-90 across upstate New York on Tuesday morning due to a subtle wind shift that was pushing a strong snow band over this heavily traveled corridor. The Syracuse area, in particular, was expected to receive several inches of snow throughout the evening hours.
The lake effect snow is expected to persist until Wednesday morning, bringing the potential for an additional 8 to 16 inches of snow in the customary snow belt regions downstream of lakes Erie and Ontario. When the snowfall finally ceases, total accumulations could reach as high as 30-40 inches, particularly in the Tug Hill Plateau area of upstate New York.
Some flurries, also known as mood snow, may reach the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City metro areas due to the strong winds associated with the lake-effect snow.
If any snowflakes happen to fall in the big cities, they won’t accumulate. Instead, they will be more like a casual conversation.
Lake-effect snow is a phenomenon that occurs when a cold air mass moves over the relatively warm and ice-free Great Lakes. This temperature difference gives rise to clouds, which eventually result in snowfall downwind of the lakes.
The snow-producing cold air mass is the coldest of the season thus far. In the Upper Midwest, including Minneapolis, single-digit temperatures and wind chills below zero were recorded on Tuesday morning. Chicago experienced wind chill values in the single digits, while New Yorkers started their day with wind chills in the 20s.
A blast of cold air is not limited to just the Midwest and the Northeast. In fact, all areas east of the Mississippi can expect a chilly Tuesday with high temperatures expected to be 10-20 degrees below average.
Tuesday’s highs will be a challenge to reach 40 degrees for the major cities along the I-95 corridor. Meanwhile, cities in the Southeast like Atlanta, Tallahassee, Florida, and New Orleans will experience temperatures in the 50s. The initial chill of winter will persist over the next couple of days but is expected to ease by the end of the week.
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