321  
FXUS61 KALY 211134  
AFDALY  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY  
634 AM EST THU NOV 21 2024  
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
TODAY WILL FEATURE WIDESPREAD RAIN, WITH A CHANGE TO  
SNOW EXPECTED IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN TONIGHT. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW  
ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE CATSKILLS, WITH UP TO A FEW  
INCHES IN HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE ADIRONDACKS AND SOUTHERN GREENS ALSO  
POSSIBLE THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT. PRECIPITATION TAPERS TO VALLEY RAIN  
AND HIGH-ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS FOR THE WEEKEND, WITH CONTINUED COOL  
AND BREEZY CONDITIONS.  
 

 
   
NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/
 
 
*WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FOR SCHOHARIE COUNTY, AS  
WELL AS FOR WESTERN GREENE AND WESTERN ULSTER COUNTIES, FROM 4  
PM THURSDAY THROUGH 1 AM SATURDAY*  
   
UPDATE...AS OF 6:35 AM EST
 
OCCLUDED FRONT CONTINUES TO SLOWLY  
ADVANCE NORTHEASTWARDS, WITH WIDESPREAD RAIN NOW HAVING REACHED  
THE UPPER HUDSON VALLEY AND BENNINGTON COUNTY VT. RAIN SHOULD  
CONTINUE TO SPREAD NORTHEASTWARDS THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS  
AND FALL STEADILY THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. CURRENT TEMPERATURES  
ACTUALLY RUNNING A DEGREE OR TWO ABOVE THE PREVIOUS FORECAST FOR  
MOST AREAS, BUT NYS MESONET OBS SHOW TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW TO  
MID 30S ACROSS CENTRAL NY, AND THIS AIRMASS SHOULD ADVANCE  
EASTWARDS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS, WHICH MAY ALLOW FOR SOME  
SNOW TO MIX IN ACROSS THE CATSKILLS. NEVERTHELESS, WITH  
RELATIVELY WARM GROUND TEMPERATURES AND DAYTIME INSOLATION, NOT  
EXPECTING MUCH IN THE WAY OF SNOW ACCUMULATION FOR THESE AREAS  
UNTIL LATER THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING. OVERALL, PREVIOUS FORECAST  
REMAINS ON TRACK WITH MORE DETAILS ON THE HIGH-ELEVATION SNOW  
EVENT BELOW...  
   
PREVIOUS
 
OCCLUDED SFC LOW IS CURRENTLY LOCATED OVER THE  
GREAT LAKES REGION, AND IS NEARLY VERTICALLY STACKED BENEATH A  
POTENT UPPER LOW. THE SYSTEM'S OCCLUDED FRONT IS CURRENTLY  
LOCATED ACROSS CENTRAL NY, EXTENDING SOUTHEASTWARDS THROUGH NY.  
A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE HAS ALREADY DEVELOPED ALONG THIS FRONT  
BENEATH THE LEFT EXIT OF THE UPPER JET, AND SHOULD CONTINUE TO  
DEEPEN TODAY IS IT TRACKS NORTHWARDS TOWARDS LONG ISLAND.  
CURRENT RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS WIDESPREAD RAIN ALONG AND AHEAD OF  
THIS FRONT, WHICH IS NOW CURRENTLY ADVANCING NORTHEASTWARDS INTO  
THE UPPER HUDSON VALLEY AND SOUTHERN VT. TEMPERATURES AND DEW  
POINTS ARE MAINLY IN THE 40S, SO PRECIPITATION WILL BE PLAIN  
RAIN EVEN FOR THE HIGH TERRAIN. WIDESPREAD RAIN IS EXPECTED  
TODAY, CHANGING TO WET SNOW IN THE HIGH TERRAIN OF THE  
CATSKILLS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING AS THE UPPER LOW  
SLIDES OVER THE OHIO VALLEY AND INTO PA, ALLOWING COLD AIR TO  
WRAP INTO THE DEEPENING SURFACE LOW. RAIN WILL BE MAINLY  
MODERATE THROUGH THE DAY TODAY, WITH A FEW BRIEF BURSTS OF  
HEAVIER RAIN. NEVERTHELESS, WITH SUCH DRY ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS,  
FLOODING DOES NOT LOOK TO BE A CONCERN. TODAY WILL BE SEVERAL  
DEGREES COOLER THAN YESTERDAY, WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S FOR THE  
VALLEYS AND TEMPERATURES DROPPING INTO THE 30S FOR THE HIGH  
TERRAIN.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY/
 
 
RAIN CHANGES TO SNOW TONIGHT IN THE HIGH TERRAIN, WITH SEVERAL  
INCHES OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE IN THE CATSKILLS...  
 
TONIGHT, THE UPPER LOW TRACKS FROM PA INTO THE NYC/LOWER HUDSON  
VALLEY AREA. THE SURFACE LOW CONTINUES TO DEEPEN BELOW 990 MB  
AS IT GETS CAPTURED BY THE UPPER LOW AND ABRUPTLY TAKES A TURN  
TO THE WEST/NORTHWEST TONIGHT, MOVING OVER THE MID TO LOWER  
HUDSON VALLEY BY 12Z FRIDAY. PRECIPITATION REMAINS MAINLY RAIN  
IN THE VALLEYS, BUT THE HIGH ELEVATIONS SEE A SWITCH TO SNOW  
WITH COLDER AIR WRAPPING INTO THE SURFACE LOW FROM THE  
SOUTHWEST. ONCE THE LOW BECOMES VERTICALLY STACKED LATE  
TONIGHT/TOMORROW MORNING, IT WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN AND  
PRECIPITATION BECOMES MORE SHOWERY, REMAINING RAIN IN THE  
VALLEYS AND MOSTLY SNOW IN THE HIGH TERRAIN. FOR VALLEY AREAS, A  
WIDESPREAD 1 TO 1.5" OF LIQUID PRECIP IS EXPECTED, WHICH SHOULD  
HELP WITH ONGOING DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND FIRE WEATHER OVER THE  
PAST FEW WEEKS.  
 
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE REMAINS SOME FORECAST UNCERTAINTY REGARDING  
HOW FAR NORTH AND WEST THE SURFACE LOW WILL GET PULLED OVERNIGHT  
TONIGHT. TODAY'S GUIDANCE SHIFTED SLIGHTLY FURTHER TO THE EAST  
AND SLIGHTLY SOUTH WITH THE TRACK OF THE SURFACE LOW. THIS COULD  
REDUCE POTENTIAL DRY SLOTTING ISSUES CUTTING DOWN ON QPF IN THE  
MID HUDSON VALLEY, WHILE THE SHIFT TO THE EAST WOULD ALSO ALLOW  
FOR THE COLDER AIR TO MAKE IT FURTHER EAST. WILL CONTINUE TO  
MONITOR TRENDS THROUGH THE DAY TODAY REGARDING THE SURFACE LOW  
AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY FOR IMPACTS ON QPF AND SNOWFALL AMOUNTS.  
 
THE SNOW COULD COME DOWN HEAVILY AT TIMES TONIGHT IN THE  
CATSKILLS. THE SETUP IS NOT A PERFECT MATCH TO THE PIVOTING SNOW  
BAND CONCEPTUAL MODEL DEVELOPED THROUGH COLLABORATIVE CSTAR  
RESEARCH WITH SUNY ALBANY, ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE NECESSARY  
ELEMENTS ARE THERE IN THE SYNOPTIC SETUP TONIGHT. LOW TO MID-  
LEVEL FGEN MAX LOOKS TO SET UP OVER OR JUST WEST OF THE  
CATSKILLS AS THE SFC LOW BACKS IN TONIGHT, WITH THE 700 MB LOW  
TRACKING OVER OR JUST SOUTH OF THE CATSKILLS. THIS WOULD SHIFT  
THE BEST BANDING POTENTIAL AND HIGHEST SNOWFALL RATES JUST  
WEST/SOUTHWEST OF OUR CATSKILL ZONES, WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY THE  
WPC SNOWBAND PROBABILITY TOOL. NEVERTHELESS, THIS REMAIN A  
DYNAMIC SYSTEM WITH PLENTY OF POTENTIAL FOR DIABATIC COOLING AND  
E/SE LOW-LEVEL FLOW TO LEAD TO ENHANCED SNOWFALL TOTALS ACROSS  
THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF WESTERN GREENE AND ULSTER COUNTIES. WHILE  
WE DO HAVE WARNING-LEVEL CRITERIA SNOWFALL ACROSS PORTIONS OF  
THESE AREAS, WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE OF THESE  
HIGHER-END AMOUNTS TO WARRANT UPGRADING THE ADVISORY TO A  
WARNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS WILL LIKELY OCCUR NEAR THE BIG  
INDIAN WILDERNESS, SLIDE MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS, AND HUNTER  
MOUNTAIN WHERE UP TO 10" OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE SNOW WILL  
BE OF A WET, HEAVY CONSISTENCY INITIALLY WITH RATIONS LESS THAT  
10 TO 1, SO THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW COULD LEAD TO SOME DOWNED  
TREE LIMBS POSSIBLY RESULTING IN POWER OUTAGES.  
 
FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...UPPER LOW SLIDES OFF THE NJ  
COAST IN TANDEM WITH THE VERTICALLY STACKED SFC LOW. WITH MOIST  
CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT WRAPPING AROUND THE UPPER LOW, WE WILL  
CONTINUE TO SEE CLOUDY SKIES AND SCATTERED VALLEY RAIN/HIGH-  
TERRAIN SNOW SHOWERS, BUT THESE SHOULD DIMINISH IN COVERAGE AND  
BECOME LIGHTER THROUGH THE PERIOD. ONE POTENTIAL ADJUSTMENT TO  
PREVIOUS FORECASTS THAT WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED IS THE POTENTIAL  
FOR AN ADDITIONAL PERIOD OF RAIN/SNOW ACROSS WESTERN NEW ENGLAND  
FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY AS YET ANOTHER SFC LOW DEVELOPS OFF THE  
EAST COAST AND TRACKS TOWARDS NEW BRUNSWICK. IF THIS WERE TO  
OCCUR, AS SOME SOURCES OF GUIDANCE NOW SHOW, THEN ADDITIONAL  
LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WOULD BE POSSIBLE IN THE SOUTHERN  
GREENS. OTHERWISE, WE SHOULD SEE A GRADUAL DRYING TREND SATURDAY  
AFTERNOON ASIDE FROM SOME LIGHT LAKE EFFECT RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS IN  
THE WESTERN ADKS AND WESTERN MOHAWK VALLEY. FRIDAY NIGHT WILL  
FEATURE LOWS IN THE 20S TO 30S, WITH SATURDAY'S HIGHS IN THE 30S  
(TERRAIN) TO 40S (VALLEYS), WHICH WILL BE SIMILAR TO FRIDAY'S  
HIGH TEMPS.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/
 
 
VERTICALLY STACKED LOW PRESSURE WILL BE WELL OFF THE EAST COAST INTO  
NOVA SCOTIA TO START THE LONG TERM PERIOD, THOUGH ITS EFFECTS WILL  
STILL BE FELT ACROSS THE REGION AS WE CLOSE OUT THE WEEKEND.  
LINGERING MOISTURE AND LIFT WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW IN NORTHWEST  
FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ACROSS THE NORTHEAST SATURDAY NIGHT INTO  
SUNDAY, AND WILL KEEP RAIN AND SNOW CHANCES IN PLACE. THE BEST  
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL BE MAINLY IN THE WESTERN MOHAWK VALLEY  
AND ADKS IN THE LAKE EFFECT BELTS, THOUGH LOW CHANCES (20-40%) ARE  
IN PLACE FOR AREAS NORTH OF THE MID HUDSON VALLEY WITH CVA MOVING  
INTO THE REGION. SUNDAY WILL BE QUITE BREEZY AS WELL WITH GUSTS  
AROUND 25-35 MPH AS A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN THE DEPARTING  
LOW TO THE EAST AND BUILDING HIGH TO THE WEST WILL BE IN PLACE.  
TEMPERATURES WILL BE QUITE CHILLY WITH HIGHS RANGING FROM THE 30S  
IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS TO MID/UPPER 40S IN VALLEY LOCATIONS.  
 
WE GET A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WEATHER SUNDAY NIGHT INTO DAYTIME MONDAY  
WITH HIGH PRESSURE QUICKLY SKIRTING ACROSS THE AREA FROM SOUTHWEST  
TO NORTHEAST. HOWEVER, YET ANOTHER ROUND OF LOW PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW  
FOR THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY WITH A MIX OF RAIN & SNOW  
EXPECTED. CHANCES HAVE INCREASED IN THIS FCST (50-80%), THOUGH THE  
EXACT AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION EXPECTED REMAINS UNCERTAIN.  
TEMPERATURES WILL START OUT ABOVE NORMAL WITH HIGHS MONDAY AND  
TUESDAY RANGING FROM AROUND 40 (TERRAIN) TO LOW 50S (VALLEYS) BEFORE  
FALLING INTO LOW 30S (TERRAIN) TO LOW 40S (VALLEYS) WEDNESDAY.  
 
DETERMINISTIC SOLUTIONS DIVERGE HEADING INTO THE THANKSGIVING  
HOLIDAY, THOUGH SOME SUGGEST ACTIVE WEATHER WITH CHANCES OF RAIN &  
SNOW WILL PERSIST AS ANOTHER ROBUST SYSTEM PASSES NEAR THE AREA.  
LOOK FOR ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THIS PERIOD IN SUBSEQUENT FCST.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/
 
 
THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY...FLYING CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE  
TO MVFR/IFR OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AS A SYSTEM BRINGS A STEADY  
RAIN ACROSS THE REGION. THESE LOW CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL  
PERSIST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD AT ALL TERMINALS AS THE  
SYSTEM SLOWLY TRAVERSES THE AREA. LIGHT & VARIABLE WINDS INITIALLY  
WILL INCREASE OUT OF THE EAST TO NORTHEAST AROUND 10 KTS AFTER  
DAYBREAK, AND WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST MAINLY AT KPOU/KALB AS THE  
SURFACE LOW NEARS THE TERMINALS LATE IN THE PERIOD. KPSF WILL ALSO  
SEE LLWS LATE IN THE PERIOD WITH A 40-50 KT LLJ PASSING NEAR THE  
TERMINAL.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
 
FRIDAY NIGHT: MODERATE OPERATIONAL IMPACT. CHANCE OF SHRA.  
SATURDAY: MODERATE OPERATIONAL IMPACT. BREEZY. CHANCE OF SHRA.  
SATURDAY NIGHT: MODERATE OPERATIONAL IMPACT. BREEZY. CHANCE OF SHRA.  
SUNDAY: LOW OPERATIONAL IMPACT. BREEZY. NO SIG WX.  
SUNDAY NIGHT: NO OPERATIONAL IMPACT. NO SIG WX.  
MONDAY: NO OPERATIONAL IMPACT. NO SIG WX.  
MONDAY NIGHT: HIGH OPERATIONAL IMPACT. LIKELY SHRA.  
TUESDAY: MODERATE OPERATIONAL IMPACT. BREEZY. CHANCE OF SHRA.  
 

 
   
ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
CT...NONE.  
NY...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 1 AM EST  
SATURDAY FOR NYZ047-058-063.  
MA...NONE.  
VT...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
SYNOPSIS...MAIN  
NEAR TERM...MAIN  
SHORT TERM...MAIN  
LONG TERM...SPECK  
AVIATION...SPECK  
 
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