Today's Tri-State Area Update: WINTER STORM #8: A Dangerous Mess of Snow/Ice/Freezing Rain

TODAY	TONIGHT	TOMORROW
Snow Changing to Sleet	ICE	Ice  Changing to Freezing Rain
31°	23°	34°

*Updated 7:00am*
Good morning! Time to Hammer out another winter storm!
Our latest winter storm is here! And this one will be even more dangerous at times than any other storm this winter - but not for massive amounts of snow!
Tue-Thurs Headlines*Both AM commutes will be impacted.*There will be a lull in the storm this afternoon*Worst of storm is overnight tonight*Dangerous mix of snow/sleet/ice and freezing rain*Ice accumulation could cause massive problems*Power outages and downed trees/power lines likely overnight*Skies begin to clear late Thursday morning
This is one of the most complicated storms for our area in quite some time. Schools and businesses should stay on top of this forecast for any changes that may arise throughout the next two days. Any deviation in temperatures by tenths of a degree in some instances will have a major impact on who sees sleet/ice/rain and when. Here's your storm planner:Storm Planner

Tue. 2AM - Midday	Periods of Snow AND Sleet
Tue. Midday – Early Evening	Sleet/Ice, *Becoming Light
Tue. Night – Early Wed. AM	Heavy Ice *Major Concern
Wed. AM – Wed Evening	Freezing Rain, *Could Change to Plain Rain For a Few Hours
Wednesday Night	Quick Snow Burst

This Morning:Periods of snow will fall from about 2AM this morning through midday. Mixing with sleet at times. Temperatures will be in the upper 20's to around 30 degrees. As for snowfall totals:
**EXPECT LOW END SNOW AMOUNTS AT THIS TIME**

**From first flakes until snow changes to Sleet**

This Afternoon:

Sleet becomes light as we get into a lull in the storm. We will be waiting for part two which will be the more significant half of the storm. 

Expect light freezing rain or sleet throughout the afternoon with temperatures between 30 and 33 degrees.

This Evening/Overnight:

Part two of this storm gets to us and will predominantly fall in the form of heavy ice/freezing rain with temperatures falling back into the 20's. This is a major concern and here's why:

That much ice, combined with gusty Northeast winds will create nasty travel conditions. Ice accumulation of even a few tenths of an inch would be much worse than a lot of snow.

Tomorrow:

Your Wednesday morning commute will be much worse than this morning's with heavy ice falling during the very early morning hours.

It looks like this ice will want to change over to freezing rain quickly as temperatures in the mid-levels of the atmosphere try to climb several degrees warmer. Remember, freezing rain falls as plain rain, but instantly turns to ice when it hits the surface. 

There will probably be a period of a couple of hours where, especially on the East End of Long Island, we go to plain rain. 

Winds will be at their strongest during the day tomorrow, gusting to 30mph!! This will cause for the continued threat of power outages and downed trees/power lines.

Tomorrow evening:

By tomorrow evening, we're dealing with a wintry mix again before ending as some light snow late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

Thursday:

We'll finally start to clear out as another frigid blast of cold air moves in. Highs will be in the upper 20's. 

Weekend:

Expect a slow warming trend for Friday through this weekend, but there is the possibility of a coastal snowstorm still on the table for Saturday. I'll continue to watch that throughout the week and bring you the latest.

For now, stay warm, stay safe (preferably at home indoors if you don't have to be out) and try to have a terrific Tuesday!

And remember, if you have any questions or comments on the weather feel free to contact me by commenting on this post, or on Facebook or Twitter. I'll be wanting your storm photos as well! Thanks!

TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON
Storm	One			Watching Storm Two
31°	34°	27°	30°	33°	35°	40°
23°	21°	13°	21°	23°	25°	30°