A look at satellite radar just after 11 am ET on Monday, February 27, as the Northeast prepares for snow.
Credit: CNN Weather
(CNN) --
As a major storm system moves across the central United States and the Great Lakes region, the cities of Boston and New York are expecting their biggest snowfall of the season after an unusually warm winter, according to CNN meteorologists.
According to the National Weather Service, the two cities are under a winter advisory, as snow and ice are expected to begin arriving in the region on Monday afternoon.
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This could easily be New York's biggest snowfall of a nearly snow-free season.
The weather service is forecasting 4 to 6 inches of snow and ice in New York City Monday night through noon Tuesday, along with winds gusting up to 35 mph.
"Better late than never! New York City has only received 1cm of snow so far this winter (since December 1st), about 60cm below its average," the CNN meteorologist said. Brandon Miller.
"But that looks like it's going to change on THE LAST DAY of meteorological winter (which runs from December 1 to February 28)."
Boston is forecast to receive up to 4 inches of snow through Tuesday night, which would also be its most of the season.
The city's heaviest snowfall so far was just 5 cm on January 23.
Boston has received less than a third of its normal snowfall this winter, about 10 inches total compared to a normal 36 inches, Miller said.
This unusually snowless boreal winter prompted Mayor Gary Christenson of Malden, Massachusetts, north of Boston, to declare winter over on February 8, when he tweeted that the city was lifting all winter parking restrictions for its approximately 65,000 residents. residents.
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"This year, winter parking regulations began on February 1, but were quickly lifted due to warmer than normal weather in February," the city announced on its website.
Winter weather conditions expected in the Northeast through mid-week
Winter weather watches, which include both winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories, are in effect for parts of central Pennsylvania to central Maine through Tuesday, according to the weather service.
The greatest amounts of snow are expected in inland New York, Connecticut, and in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, where up to 12 inches of fresh snow is possible.
Mixed precipitation (rain and snow or sleet) is expected in parts of central Pennsylvania, including 1 to 4 inches of snow and sleet in the valleys and 2 to 4 inches on higher ground;
Ice buildup is also expected.
Parts of central and upstate New York could see 2 to 4 inches of snow and up to 0.25 inches of ice fall.
"You can expect slippery roads. Hazardous conditions could affect morning and evening commutes," the weather service warned.
The snow and ice threat will shift to New Hampshire and Maine beginning Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning.
No concern for drought
Despite this season's minimal snow levels, the Northeast is not under threat of drought and, if anything, the situation is improving.
"Essentially, the snow drought is not the same as an actual drought for the Northeast," according to Miller, who added that the region is experiencing the normal number of storms and amounts of precipitation, only that it is falling as rain, rather than of snow, due to the warm temperatures.
The head of the Weather Prediction Center, Greg Carbin, told CNN in January that "the east is certainly in a snow drought, with some locations that normally get snow, with a drop of 12 inches to over 3 feet."
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The period between snowfalls is also likely to increase as the weather warms, and this may be especially true for northeastern coastal cities.
According to the US National Weather Assessment, as temperatures rise in the Northeast, the line between rain and snow shifts northward, leading to more rainy days on the coast and less snow.
And this is not just happening in the Northeast.
Meteorological winter, which spans December, January and February, is also the fastest warming season for 75% of 238 US locations, according to Climate Central data analysis.
While much of the Northeast, with the exception of western New York, has seen almost no snow this winter, the western US has a different story, with parts of southern California covered in four feet of snow. snow over the weekend, with blizzard advisories and winter storm watches in effect again Monday.
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