Nor'easter to bring first seasonal snow to interior Northeast and Great Lakes
A weak nor'easter will produce wet snow in hill and mountain areas of the interior Northeast and Great Lakes region, while also bringing the first frosts and freezes to parts of the Southeast this weekend.
A nor'easter is expected to develop early Thursday, bringing the first accumulating snow of the season to hilly and mountainous locations in the interior Northeast and Great Lakes snowbelt. The system will start as rain across much of the Northeast on Thursday, with wet snow developing later over higher terrain. Lake-effect rain and snow bands are forecast for the western Great Lakes.
On Friday, rain will continue in southern New England, the New York City metro area and New Jersey, while wet snow spreads across the interior Northeast, especially over hills and mountains. Lake-effect precipitation will persist over the Great Lakes, and scattered rain or wet snow showers are possible from the Ohio Valley to Kentucky and Tennessee.
Saturday may see lingering lake-effect rain and snow showers, with additional snow possible in the Appalachians and northern New England. Winds are expected to gust up to 30 mph, prompting drivers to allow extra stopping distance, particularly at night.
The highest chance of measurable wet snow includes the Green and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, the Adirondacks and Catskills of upstate New York, the Appalachians from West Virginia to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, and parts of western Upper Michigan away from the immediate lakeshore. Isolated flakes may also occur in northern Indiana, northeast Ohio, southwest New York and the Ohio Valley.
A surge of colder air will move southward, bringing the first freeze of the season to much of the Carolinas, northern and central Georgia, and northern and central Alabama by the weekend. Daytime highs are expected to remain in the 40s across the Midwest and Northeast, and in the 50s across the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley. Residents with sensitive outdoor plants are advised to protect them before the freeze.
Meteorologist Rob Shackelford notes that this nor'easter is not expected to be a high-impact storm because the low-pressure system is relatively weak and the pressure gradient with Canadian high pressure is modest. Consequently, coastal flooding along the Northeast coast should be minor and flash-flooding unlikely along the Interstate 95 corridor.