Prepare for another round of crazed motorists zooming off the roads and crashing.
The Newburgh Enlarged City School District has announced an emergency early dismissal this morning due to the impending storm. The middle schools and and high school campuses will dismiss at 10:15am. All other schools will dismiss at 11:15am or 12:15pm.
The National Weather Service has placed Orange County under a Winter Weather Advisory, cancelling the previously issued Winter Storm Watch. Conditions across the county will greatly vary. While some areas are projected to receive warning level snowfall totals, other areas are barely expected to reach advisory level amounts. Therefore, the National Weather Service has cancelled the watch, which precedes a warning, and replaced it with an advisory.
A Winter Storm Warning is issued when 7″ or more of snow is expected within a 24 hour period. A Winter Weather Advisory is issued for lesser amounts of snow and/or ice that is expected to cause an inconvenience, but is not serious enough to meet warning criteria.
For Orange County, the Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 1:00pm this afternoon through 10:00am Friday. For the eastern half of the county, 1-3″ of snow is now expected. However, a stretch from Montgomery to Port Jervis, as well as all of western Orange County, is forecast to receive 3-8″ of snow. Wind gusts to 35 mph are possible. The hazardous conditions are expected to impact the rush hour commutes this evening and tomorrow morning.
For eastern Ulster County, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 4:00pm this afternoon through 7:00am Saturday. Total snowfall amounts of 4-8″ are expected. Snowfall rates may vary by elevation, the National Weather Service says. The snow will mix with or change to rain at times on Friday.
For western Ulster County, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 4:00pm this afternoon through 10:00am Saturday. Total snow accumulations of 8-16″ are expected with localized amounts of two feet possible. The best chance for snowfall totals over 18″ are at locations over 2,000 feet. Snowfall rates will reach one inch per hour at times early Friday morning and again during the late afternoon and early evening on Friday. “Travel will be very difficult,” cautions the National Weather Service.
For Sullivan County, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 10:00am this morning through 7:00pm Friday. Heavy mixed precipitation is expected with snowfall totals of 6-14″ plus ice accumulations of 1/10″. Wind gusts are forecast to reach 40 mph. “Travel conditions could be very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service warns. The snow is expected to be heavy and wet, which is likely to cause power outages.
No weather alerts have been posted for Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester Counties as those areas are expected to remain mostly rain.
Stay tuned to the most current weather alerts, live radar, real-time conditions, and the current forecast at The Newburgh News here.
