Winter Weather Advisories: Snow Timing For Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The season's first serious snowstorm is expected to bring 1-5 inches to the Hudson Valley overnight Thursday into Friday morning, according to the winter weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service.

It's not as if we've gotten a lot of snow yet this winter. In New York City, just 0.2 inches have fallen this whole season, a far cry from the historical average of 6.7 inches by this date, said AccuWeather staff writer Mark Puleo.

This won't bring us that much, meteorologists say.

"It now looks like this system will be a modest event, but considering this is primed to be our first widespread snow event of the season, it could cause some headaches for the Friday morning commute," said Alex Marra and Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather.

The storm will move from the southwest to the northeast. Hudson Valley Weather estimates the first flakes in the region would appear around 11 p.m. It could be heavy before daylight, but will taper off from west to east between 8 and 11 a.m.

At 3 p.m., the NWS updated its predictions, estimating 3-4 inches in Rockland and Westchester counties, 2-4 inches for Orange and Putnam, and 2-5 inches for Dutchess County. Outside of the winter weather advisory, Ulster could get 1-3 inches.

Meanwhile, Western New York and the North Country are expected to receive more than a foot of lake effect snow through Friday, with wind gusts up to 40 mph, causing whiteout conditions at times.

In the Mid-Hudson, it could also be gusty, with temperatures in the 20s overnight. In the daytime Friday, it won't feel much warmer than that.

Given the forecast, New Yorkers, especially those in downstate regions, are being encouraged to utilize mass transit for commutes, said Gov. Kathy Hochul.

NY state Transportation Department staff in the Lower Hudson Valley will be applying brine pre-treatment to all road surfaces that do not have sufficient residual salt.

Also, tow services will be utilized at the following locations to clear crashes quickly and help keep traffic moving: I-84 (Dutchess), I-84 (Orange), I-684 (Dutchess), Hutchinson River Parkway, Cross County Parkway, Saw Mill River Parkway, Sprain Brook State Parkway, and Taconic State Parkway. The need for additional tow services will be reevaluated as the snow develops.

Temps will drop and skies will clear after the storm goes through.

Here's the hour-by-hour for Poughkeepsie from the National Weather Service: