12/20/2024: Light Snow Later Today, Then Very Cold

The Latest Storm Tracker Forecast from Meteorologist Kevin Appleby:

A clipper system will bring a nuisance light snowfall to most of the region for the second half of Friday into early Saturday. Behind it, a very chilly air mass will build over the News10 viewing area for the end of the weekend and early next week.

Not much sun is expected throughout the day with temperatures struggling to climb back to freezing. This will feel balmy by the end of my 7-day forecast.

Snow showers, isolated at first, will develop around lunchtime, with a focus along and west of Interstate 87. Snow showers will be the most widespread around dinnertime.

After midnight, the snow showers will become less numerous, but a few will continue here and there afterwards. Low temperatures will drop into the low 20s for most.

Snow showers may persist through mid-morning here in the Hudson Valley, especially south of I-90. By noon I expect accumulating snows to conclude (a few flakes may still fly through the air.) Accumulations will range from 1 to 3 inches along and west of I-87, along with in the higher terrain of Rensselaer County and Western New England.

The breeze will kick in for tomorrow afternoon, transporting in much chillier air. High temperatures will peak early tomorrow afternoon mainly in the 20s.

The winds will persist into Sunday morning. While that will actually help keep actual air temperatures a bit higher than Monday morning, wind chill values will make Sunday morning feel like the coldest of the bunch. Widespread wind chill values below zero are on tap, with a pocket of wind chills -20 or less in some of the higher terrain way off to the north. Monday morning, in terms of actual air temperature, will be the lowest the mercury has fallen on the thermometers in a lot of areas since two winters ago. Our forecast low of 3 in Albany hasn't happened in nearly 700 days - it's been quite some time! The good news is there won't be much, if any, wind Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Sunday afternoon will continue with the frigid theme and a light but persistent wind. Actual air temperatures will struggle to get out of the teens despite a ton of sunshine. Clouds will be on the increase into Monday afternoon after the cold start, but a developing light south wind will push the numbers back into the 20s later in the day.

It will become more seasonable Tuesday through Thursday with high temperatures in the low to mid 30s, but Christmas Eve morning may start off with some light snow - good news if you are yearning for a White Christmas! The day itself looks dry with some sunshine and "milder" but seasonable temperatures. More clouds enter our skies for Thursday, but the big cold will be going away for a while - until 2025 at least!