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NYC’s First Snowstorm of Season to Hit With Biting Wind Chill

New York City’s First Big Snowfall of Winter Is Coming Tonight

New York City is facing its first significant winter storm of the season as a sprawling system rolls over the Northeast, threatening to snarl Friday morning’s commute and dump up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow.

Winter storm warnings and weather advisories stretch from Kentucky to Maine, with the storm expected to start late Thursday night and continue through mid-morning, according to the National Weather Service. Models call for the system to reach a peak just as the morning commute starts, with flakes falling at more than 1 inch per hour. Winds will gust from 15 to 30 miles (24 to 48 kilometers) per hour. 

“You are going to have a pretty good, biting wind chill,’’ said Rich Bann, a forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

Consolidated Edison Inc., the utility that serves much of New York City, warned of possible power outages. New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged motorists to avoid unnecessary travel. Officials have been sending crews out in advance of the storm, she said during a briefing.

“We're ready for this,” Hochul said.

New Jersey will be under a state of emergency starting at 10 p.m., when snow is expected to start, Governor Phil Murphy said during a briefing. Commercial trucks will be banned or restricted on interstates.

The storm is part of larger system that may dump snow from Missouri through the southern Appalachian region to the East Coast, with the heaviest accumulations expected in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. Nashville may get as much as 6 inches Thursday and the mountains of West Virginia could get as much 12 inches, according to Ryan Truchelut, president of Weather Tiger LLC. 

The storm will blow through the New York City region quickly, followed by gusty winds and then rain that will probably wash away the snow starting Sunday evening. “The Northeast corridor will warm up over the weekend,” Truchelut said. “We won’t be cold for an extended period.”

So far, New York’s Central Park has received 0.2 inches of snow this season, which is 6.3 inches below normal, according to the National Weather Service.
 

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