(Bloomberg) — Cold rain fell over New York on Tuesday as a fast-moving winter storm brought heavy snowfall to the north and east, causing airline delays and potentially snarling ground traffic in the interior Northeast.
Temperatures in New York hovered around 40°F (4°C) by midday, and more than half an inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain is expected in the coming hours, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, the central Hudson River Valley and a large swath of New England braced for 6 to 10 inches of snow, up to a foot in some places.
A period of rain and heavy snow is forecast to affect some major highways across the region, causing difficulties for air travelers in major cities. As of Tuesday afternoon in New York, 3,184 U.S. flights were delayed and another 146 canceled, according to FlightAware.
A winter weather advisory and thunderstorm warning extended from North Carolina to the Maine-New Brunswick border late Tuesday morning as the system is forecast to roll north along the coast. A yellow snow warning – indicating a moderate impact – has been issued for much of Nova Scotia as well as southern Ontario by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“All the big cities are missing it today,” said Bob Oravec, chief branch forecaster for the U.S. Weather Forecast Center, of the storm’s biggest impacts. “It’s moving pretty fast. Even if it snows heavily today, it won’t be a storm that lasts forever.”
In New York, the rain is forecast to taper off late on Tuesday and Wednesday will be sunny with temperatures expected to reach 41C (5C) before a flurry of cooler air arrives later in the week. Lows are expected to drop into the low 20s on Thursday night.
Boston will see snow overnight and turn to sleet early Wednesday morning as gusty winds sweep through the city.
Oravec said frigid air will push into the Great Lakes as the storm moves away, with some of that coming east. Temperatures in Chicago are forecast to drop to 4C Thursday night. There is a chance that many cold records will be tied or broken at more than 70 weather stations across the region on Thursday and Friday.
(Update with details throughout.)
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