What you should know
- A winter storm dumped up to 17 inches of snow on parts of the Hudson Valley, unlike New York which only experienced a mix of rain and snow at times. He Hudson Valley saw the heaviest snow, along with northern New Jersey
- The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency ahead of the storm, implemented restrictions on commercial vehicles on highways and mobilized first responders.
- The snow has eased overnight, but strong winds are expected on Wednesday.
NEW YORK – The strongest winter storm of the season beleaguered the tri-state area with snow and/or rain (depending on your location) during an approximately 36-hour siege that only began in end until early Wednesday after dumping nearly a foot and a half of snow in parts of New York, and a scrape of sleet, or less, in others.
Wednesday starts out windy with temperatures in the 40s, although the weather will be fine. It comes after gusts of 40 to 50 mph hit coastal areas of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island overnight. The New Jersey coastline, completely devoid of snow from the latest storm, saw some of the most intense gusts on Tuesday, exceeding 50 mph.
Lingering snow had turned to sporadic flakes overnight after steady, steady snowfall on Tuesday, but temperatures have dropped meaning roads could be icy in some places on Wednesday, particularly in areas that received the most snow.
How much snow have we had?
The parts of the Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey suffered more than a foot, and it was heavy snow that knocked out power that left more than 34,000 customers in the tri-states in the dark and disrupted travel plans for million people in the northeast.
Here’s a look at some of the highest totals in the tri-state, with New York’s Mount Carmel seeing the most on Tuesday night: 17 inches!
New York City was once again excluded from the snow party. Central Park recorded a trace and other parts of the five boroughs recorded possibly sleet. A little further inland, the counties of Hudson Valley, Westchester and Fairfield saw between 2 and 6 inches of snow. Points that saw more rain initially saw lower totals.
Although the snowfall did not set records, even in the hardest hit areas it was so heavy that a foot and a half was more like 3 feet. Governor Kathy Hochul, whose hometown of Buffalo was devastated by the deadliest snowstorm in decades late last year, declared a state of emergency in New York ahead of the storm. He also activated the National Guard to help as needed. Governor Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency in several New Jersey counties.
Hochul’s emergency order remains in effect for affected counties as additional snow and especially wind will create hazardous travel conditions through Wednesday morning. However, the New York State Police and the State Department of Transportation have lifted all previous restrictions on empty and tandem tractor-trailers that began on Monday.
Following? Check the 10-day forecast
Temperatures rise again the rest of the week, with highs expected in the 50s Thursday through Saturday and a cloudy but dry forecast for the annual New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Friday. The chance of rain returns from Friday evening to Saturday morning. And spring starts next week.