Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS State College, PA
Issued by NWS State College, PA
Versions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
516 FXUS61 KCTP 012034 AFDCTP Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 334 PM EST Mon Dec 1 2025 .SYNOPSIS... * The first widespread plowable snowfall of the season will cause travel impacts and disruptions early Tuesday * Arctic cold front will deliver snow showers/squalls and bitter cold temperatures Thursday through Friday morning * Reinforcing cold blast will ensure the first part of December will be colder than the historical average with the potential for another storm system this weekend or early next week && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 3 AM TUESDAY MORNING/... Quiet evening into the first part of tonight with increasing clouds. Late afternoon temps in the 25-40F range will likely bottom early tonight before trending neutral/leveling off prior to the onset of snow. Initial wetbulbing may also act to stabilize or reverse the diurnal trend through the predawn hours. && .SHORT TERM /3 AM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Quick moving storm to bring the first widespread plowable snowfall of the season to central PA early Tuesday. The snow accumulation will result in travel impacts and disruptions for the Tuesday morning commute to work and school. Key Takeaways/Messages: *Snow onset 3-6AM window from west to east (give or take 1hr) with temps cold enough to support accumulation and deteriorating road conditions *Heaviest snow 5-10AM west to 7AM-12PM east with rates generally <1 in/hr (0.50-0.75" range) *Snow end time 10AM-2PM west to east; snow showers or flurries linger through the evening downwind of Lake Erie over the western Alleghenies and Laurel Highlands *Total snowfall in the 2-4/3-5" range for most of the area; exceptions are the far southeast (lower amounts 0.5-2") due to rain/wintry mix and the Coal region into the Poconos (higher amounts 4-6") *Sullivan County has the highest probability (50-70%) of localized snowfall >6" *Snow character will initially be on the dry side with temps in the 20s but trend wetter/slushy as temps rise near/above freezing by the early afternoon *No significant wind impacts expected with this system; winds will increase early Tuesday night with gusts up to 20 mph We are most confident in a widespread moderate to high end winter wx advisory scenario given the fast moving nature of the system. We anticipate the highest snowfall totals over the northeast to east-central quadrant of the CWA or to the east of US-15 and north of I-81/I-78. Any melted snow or slush will refreeze Tuesday night with low temps in the lower 20s. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... High pressure builds in Wednesday with a reinforcing cold front moving through Wednesday night into Thursday. This will likely produce some light snow across the northern tier. This front will be a true Arctic front with a pretty good push of cold air behind it. As such, there will probably be line of snow showers/squall along the leading edge of the front. Current guidance indicates the front could be along the I-99/US-15 corridor by midday, and continue to push east. We`ll be able to nail down the timing of the event quite well given the linear mode (contrasted with a cellular mode that is much more complicated to time out). Thursday night and Friday look quite cold, with lows in the single digits and teens while highs only make it into the 20s to low 30s. Otherwise, temperatures will be fairly consistent for the upcoming week and weekend, with highs in the 30s and lows in the teens and 20s. By next weekend, another storm system looks to affect the Midwest and northeast US. Considerable uncertainty remains with the low track of this system. A track northwest of PA would lead to snow changing to a wintry mix and rain, while a track southeast of PA could look pretty similar to Tuesday`s system with primarily snow. Regardless, a prolonged stretch of colder than normal temperatures and an active storm track looks to continue into next week. && .AVIATION /19Z MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... The remainder of today will stay generally VFR across the region. High clouds remain present and will continue to stream in and lower ahead of the system expected to arrive tonight. A widespread snowfall will arrive Monday night into Tuesday as low pressure develops and moves up the New England coast Tuesday afternoon. Confidence in high in visibility restrictions and low cigs due to snowfall as it spreads from west to eat. Impacts will begin as early as 05-06Z across the western terminals. All airfields will likely experience IFR or lower conditions by 12Z Tuesday morning. This will be a quick hitting storm system, and precipitation should taper off sometime shortly after 18Z. There is a some uncertainty as to where the snow-rain line will set up late Tuesday morning as temperatures warm up to just above freezing in the southeast. Currently the only site expecting to see a rain snow mix will be LNS after 15Z. However, that transition zone could drift a little further north and some mixed precipitation could reach MDT before the system moves off. Outlook... Tue...Snow likely with widespread restrictions, before a possible mix later in the day across the south. Restrictions possible. Wed-Fri...Trending drier, lingering snow across NW PA. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 1 AM to 1 PM EST Tuesday for PAZ004>006-010-011-017-024-033-034-037. Winter Weather Advisory from 3 AM to 1 PM EST Tuesday for PAZ012-018-019-025>028-035-036-041-042-045-046-049>053-056>059- 063>066. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Steinbugl SHORT TERM...Steinbugl/Banghoff/Colbert LONG TERM...Steinbugl/Banghoff/Colbert AVIATION...Bowen