Homes across New England could wake to up to 12 inches of snow while New York swaps sunbathing for snow showers on Mother’s Day weekend, as forecasters warn people to brace for a May Nor’easter overnight Friday.
The National Weather Service warned Americans to wrap up warm as record cold temperatures head for the North East, triggered by the dismal combination of a weak polar vortex and an unusually cold air mass coming in from eastern Canada.
Northern New England started gearing up for cold weather this week as residents woke up to snow Tuesday morning in parts of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, in areas of northern Vermont and parts of Maine.
But the chilly outlook will come as a shock for New Yorkers, as snow showers are a far cry from scenes last weekend when many flocked to the city’s parks to take their daily exercise while enjoying temperatures of up to 80 degrees.
Homes across New England could wake to up to 12 inches of snow while New York swaps sunbathing for snow showers on Mother’s Day weekend, as forecasters warn people to brace for a May Nor’easter overnight Friday
Snowfall is headed first for the great lakes region Friday afternoon and, by morning, it is likely to have spread to parts of the North East.
Parts of New England could see between six and 12 inches of snow and a usually balmy New York City has a 13 percent chance of snow showers Saturday morning, the National Weather Service forecasts.
Upstate New York could see an inch of snow, while New York City and the Hudson River valley are likely to see mostly rain, according to Hunter Tubbs at the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.
Freeze warnings are in place for parts of Pennsylvania, with freeze watches stretching into New Jersey and as far south as Maryland, he added.
The National Weather Service warned Americans to wrap up warm as record cold temperatures head for the North East. Snowfall is headed first for the great lakes region Friday afternoon and, by morning, it is likely to have spread to parts of the North East
Parts of New England could see between six and 12 inches of snow and a usually balmy New York City has a 13 percent chance of snow showers Saturday morning, the National Weather Service forecasts
Over in the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts, as much as two inches of snow could fall on Friday into Saturday, while there will be an inch or so on grassy areas of central Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and western Connecticut, and rain with a few flakes possible in the Boston area, said forecasters.
As unusually cold weather spread across the region, Detroit, Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, could all plummet to record lows Saturday morning, as forecasters warn residents to prepare for temperatures as low as in the 20s.
‘Definitely below average temperatures for pretty much the whole East Coast,’ said Tubbs.
‘It’s going to be a pretty good dip in the jet stream.’
Forecasters partly blame the surprising outlook on a weaker polar vortex this time of year.
Usually the polar vortex is a batch of cold air that stays trapped in the Arctic all winter, but a couple times during the season, it wanders south and brings bone-chilling cold and snow to Canada and parts of the US.
People enjoy the heatwave in Central Park last weekend: Several people flocked to the city’s parks to take their daily exercise while enjoying temperatures of up to 80 degrees
Parts of northern New England woke up to snow on Tuesday morning
This year the polar vortex stayed put, and the East had an unusually mild cold season.
Around this time of year, the polar vortex breaks up, but this breakup is a bit different, said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research.
‘The polar vortex didn’t do much the whole winter, but on the way out I guess it kind of sent a message: Just because I didn’t do much this winter, don’t think I can’t,’ Cohen told Associated Press Thursday.
A low pressure system off the coast of southern New England is also pulling cold air down from the north, Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said Thursday.
Plummeting temperatures this weekend will come as a shock to many parts of the North East.
Massachusetts hasn’t had measurable snow in May since 2002, when two to three inches fell in the Berkshires.
And there hasn’t been measurable May snowfall in Boston since 1977, Dunham said.
Temperature-wise, the May 9 record low in Boston is 35 degrees, also back in 1977.