Northeast on alert for freezing cold, first major snow storm

Key Points:

• A nor'easter is expected to develop later in the week of Nov. 9, potentially bringing the first snowfall of the season to parts of the northeastern U.S., including higher elevations in the Appalachians and cities like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Binghamton.
• The storm will likely produce widespread rain across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with big cities such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston mainly seeing cold rain due to relatively warm temperatures influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.
• Temperatures are forecast to drop sharply by midweek, with highs falling 20 degrees from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13 across a broad area from Chicago to Atlanta, but this cold snap is expected to be brief as warmer-than-average conditions return by the following week.
• Nor'easters are intense low-pressure systems that typically form off the East Coast in late fall through early spring, often causing heavy rain, snow, and coastal flooding, with significant impacts on the densely populated I-95 corridor.
• While November snow is not uncommon in parts of the Northeast, the current storm's intensity and temperatures may limit snowfall amounts, with some areas experiencing only rain or marginal snow due to insufficient cold air.