Alberta Clipper to bring snow to over 12 states from Dakotas to Northeast
A fast-moving area of low pressure originating from Alberta, Canada, will track across the northern tier beginning Wednesday. This system will bring widespread snow and rain into the Northeast and Great Lakes, including some areas already buried in feet of snow from the post-Thanksgiving lake-effect snowstorm.
Alberta Clipper to bring snow to over a dozen states
A winter weather event known as an Alberta Clipper will descend from Canada later this week and roll across the northern tier, potentially bringing snow to more than a dozen states from the Dakotas to New England.
ERIE, Pa. – A winter weather event known as an Alberta Clipper will descend from Canada later this week and roll across the northern tier of the U.S., potentially bringing snow to more than a dozen states from the Dakotas to New England.
The Clipper, named for a fast-moving area of low pressure that originates from Alberta, Canada, is set to begin on Wednesday when it tracks down into North Dakota before zooming across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast by Thursday.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, the Alberta Clipper will bring a wide swath of snow, with several inches possible in areas already inundated with lake-effect snow, such as Buffalo and Syracuse in New York and Cleveland in Ohio.
(FOX Weather)
"The lake-effect snow that you're looking at right here, that's what we call mesoscale meteorology, something that's happening on a small scale like the size of a thunderstorm or lake-effect snow band," FOX Weather Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari said. "What we have coming through a little bit later on this week is actually a bigger storm system. It's a fast-mover. It's not going to be very strong, but it's a clipper, and it means that it's going to dump snow over a pretty large area."
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Erie, Pennsylvania, is forecast to see continued lake-effect snow through Tuesday before the clipper system potentially brings a few more inches on Wednesday and Thursday.
Watch: Plows working hard to clear snow from Pennsylvania roads
A video shared by FOX Weather Exclusive Storm Tracker Brandon Copic shows crews hard at work trying to clear snow from US 20 in Fairview, Pennsylvania, on Sunday morning.
Snow is also possible as far east as the Interstate 95 corridor of the Northeast, but it is too early to forecast just how much.
Strong winds associated with the low-pressure system will bring blowing snow and possible near-blizzard like conditions. Widespread gusts of 30-40 mph are likely across the Great Lakes and Northeast, with potential gusts to 50 mph near Cleveland and Buffalo.
(FOX Weather)
Will New York City see snow?
The forecast details will become clearer as the event gets closer on Wednesday, but the system is expected to drop snow from the Dakotas to New England. How far south the snow reaches depends on the temperatures in the Northeast.
As usual, New York City is right on the edge of the forecast where they could see rain or snow.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, rain is expected early on Thursday, with a slight chance of snow as the system exits the U.S.
FILE: A man walks his dog in a snow-covered park in front of the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City on February 17, 2024, in Hoboken, New Jersey.
(Gary Hershorn / Getty Images)
FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar said snowfall in New York City doesn’t seem likely because the temperatures won't be cold enough. The high temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday will be in the lower 40s.
"We know the clippers are moisture-starved to begin with. Cold air is much denser. It's drier. And so it takes a lot for a clipper to bring snow to New York City. You need the cold air in place," Minar said.
While some flakes may fall, it isn't likely to accumulate.