An active weather pattern starting with the arrival of strong winds will be followed by a drop in temperatures, setting the stage for a weekend storm that will bring accumulating snow to the region, with areas farthest north and inland possibly seeing as much as a half-foot of snowfall.
A Wind Advisory is in effect from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16. Winds out of the northwest will pick up strength later in the morning with speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 mph expected.
Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result, the National Weather Service said.
Thursday will be unseasonably warm with a high temperature near 50 degrees. An early morning round of rain has moved out east and morning clouds will give way to partly sunny skies.
The drop in temperatures will come overnight, with a low temperature around 20 degrees and the wind-chill factor between 5 and 15 degrees.
It will remain windy and cold during the day on Friday, Jan. 17 with wind gusts as high as 30 mph. It will be sunny with a high temperature in the upper 20s and wind-chill values between 5 and 15.
The weekend winter storm that will start as snow will turn to ice and rain, creating potentially hazardous travel conditions.
The storm will arrive early in the afternoon on Saturday, Jan. 18.
Snow is expected throughout the region starting at around 1 p.m. Saturday.
Areas south of I-287 in New York and the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut will see a changeover to a wintry mix of snow, sleet and rain late in the afternoon and then all rain after 8 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Farther north and inland, the changeover from snow to a wintry mix is expected to come several hours later.
The entire region will see rain until the early overnight hours of Sunday, Jan. 19.
As for total snowfall accumulations, New York City and Long Island will see about an inch. Areas north of there and south of I-84 will see between 1 and 3 inches of accumulation. Between 3 and 6 inches of snowfall is expected north of I-84, including northernmost Putnam, Orange and Fairfield counties as well as Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
Skies will become mostly sunny on Sunday with the high temperature in the mid to upper 30s.
Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 20 will be mostly sunny and colder with high temperature will be in the mid to upper 20s.
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