NWS: Snow Bullet Likely Dodged, For Now

A low pressure system that is developing off of the mid Atlantic coast and moving northeast appears to be tracking closer to the coast, which will mean rain tonight with little to no chance for snow, according to the National Weather Service.

If that doesn't prove true, and the low tracks further to the south and east, colder air may arrive bringing with it snow but accumulations are unlikely to exceed 2 inches, the weather service said in its forecast issued Wednesday morning.

Orange and Putnam counties in New York would most likely get the brunt of any snow with this area in and around Newtown forecast to receive only about half an inch of snow, according to the weather service.

Temperatures during the day will be in the 50s with the wind expected to pickup tonight with gusts as high as 39 mph, the weather service said.

The sun returns Thursday with a high near 42 and is forecast to stay for the rest of the week into next week, according to the forecast.

The weather service is predicting that La Niña will influence the weather patterns this winter for the second time in a row, though a less predictable "Artic Oscillation" could be the "wild card."

"The erratic Arctic Oscillation can generate strong shifts in the climate patterns that could overwhelm or amplify La Niña’s typical impacts,” Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said in an article posted on the agency's website.

The winter outlook for the weather through February calls for "equal chances for above-, near- or below-normal temperatures and precipitation" with the possibility of above average snow if cold air and moisture are in place, the weather service predicted.

In other words, the region can expect another winter of unpredictable swings in weather.