Storm May Bring New York Snow Tomorrow as Weekend Threat Looms

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- A fast-moving storm that probably will drop as much as 3 inches of snow on New York City and parts of southern New England tomorrow may be just a prelude to a bigger system expected to strike the area this weekend.

Tomorrow’s storm is now moving through the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma, where it may drop 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) before moving into the Ohio Valley and the Northeast, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. New York and parts of New Jersey, Long Island, southern Connecticut and Rhode Island may receive 1 to 3 inches.

“The extent of the snow probably isn’t big with this system; it will be a narrow ribbon of snow from the Texas panhandle to the Northeast,” Kines said by telephone from State College, Pennsylvania. “It could be enough to disrupt travel for a few hours. It probably stays south of Boston.”

The Northeast is still recovering from a blizzard that lashed the region over the weekend. The storm dropped 24.9 inches on Boston, the fifth-most on record, and as much as 40 inches on Hamden, Connecticut, according to the National Weather Service. At least seven people died, about 613,000 customers from Maine to New York were without power and travel was crippled in the Northeast.

Looking West

Kines said a system moving over British Columbia today may carry the next threat of heavy snow for the Northeast.

“It will be an innocent system and it will stay that way until it moves off the North Carolina coastline late Saturday or Saturday night,” Kines said.

At that point, what the storm does will depend mainly on its track, Kines said. Among the options is another “significant snowfall” for the Northeast.

“It’s a tough call this weekend,” Kines said

He said he couldn’t make an estimate on how much snow would fall. If everything comes together just right, “the plows will be out and you are going to be shoveling,” he said.

The overall pattern right now favors more storms along the Northeast, he said.

“It’s not a tranquil pattern,” Kines said. “If you are a snow lover and you like snowstorms, this is a pretty good pattern for you because there is a lot of potential.”

--Editors: Charlotte Porter, Bill Banker