Winter Storm Lorraine To Bring Snow, Wind To Northeast

W​inter Storm Lorraine will become a nor’easter as it brings heavy snow and strong winds to the East early this week, including from the Boston to Hartford and New York City metro areas. Travel in the region could be affected much of Tuesday as the storm quickly tracks eastward.

(​MORE: Nor’easters Explained)

H​ere’s where Lorraine is located right now: T​he storm is currently dropping snow over parts of the Ohio Valley, as the latest radar shows below. Rain is spreading across the South and mid-Atlantic.

W​inter storm alerts are posted for the Northeast: The National Weather Service has hoisted winter storm warnings from southern New England to southeast New York, northern New Jersey and central and northeast Pennsylvania.

Expect a potentially snowy Tuesday morning and/or afternoon commute in the affected areas of the Northeast, depending on the location. Flight delays are also possible at the major Northeast hubs Tuesday.

It’s best to avoid travel in the locations where winter storm warnings are in effect until the storm exits.

Here’s the latest timing and impacts for this winter storm: S​now or rain changing to snow will arrive in the Northeast early Tuesday. The snow, falling at rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour at times, should affect travel much of the day in the Northeast, while tapering from west to east. Much of the storm’s snowfall will be over with by Tuesday night.

W​ind gusts of 30 to 40 mph could accompany the snowfall in some areas, reducing visibility. Scattered power outages and some tree damage cannot be ruled out.

H​ere’s how much snowfall to expect: T​he map below shows our current snowfall forecast for the Northeast. Most areas from northeast Pennsylvania to southeast New York and southern New England can expect 5 to 12 inches, with locally higher totals possible. That includes the Boston, Hartford and Providence metros.

New York City could see at least 3 to 5 inches inches of snow. Totals here are still uncertain and will depend on how quickly rain changes to snow and the exact track of the storm. A quicker changeover to snow could raise totals over 5 inches, while a slower changeover might reduce totals.

(192-hours: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

Northeast Snow Drought

I​t will have been at least two weeks, if not longer, since it last snowed in what’s been another paltry winter of snowfall in the Northeast.

B​oston, New York City and Pittsburgh each have season-to-date snowfall deficits of at least 15 inches through Feb. 8. New York’s 2.3 inches is just ahead of the record-low pace from one year ago, when only 0.4 inches had fallen.

Most stunning is typically snowy Syracuse, New York. Their 28-inch seasonal total sounds impressive, but that’s 55 inches – or over 4.5 feet – behind their average pace. It’s their lowest season-to-date total in 91 years.

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