Major Winter Storm Set to Slam Tri-State, Threatening Hazardous Travel and Heavy Snow

A powerful winter storm is bearing down on the Tri-State area, with forecasters warning of significant snowfall, dangerous travel, and possible ice from Friday evening through Shabbos morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for New York City, much of New Jersey, and southern Connecticut as an area of low pressure moves in late Friday. Snow is expected to begin around 6 p.m., intensifying overnight, with the heaviest snowfall between midnight and 6 a.m. Saturday, when rates could reach one inch per hour and visibility may drop sharply.

Current forecasts call for 4 to 8 inches of snow across much of the region, including New York City, Long Island, and central New Jersey. Higher elevations — particularly in the Hudson Valley, North Jersey, and counties north and west of the city — could see 8 to 10 inches or more, with some areas approaching a foot of snow.

Given how little snow the region has seen in recent winters, even 4 inches would mark Central Park’s biggest snowfall since January 2022, nearly four years ago.

For most of New York, Connecticut, and northern and central New Jersey, this is expected to be an all-snow event, with temperatures remaining below freezing. Areas farther south and southwest may see a dangerous mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain, raising the risk of thin ice on roads and extremely hazardous travel conditions Friday night into Saturday.

City and state officials are urging residents to prepare. New York City Emergency Management has issued a travel advisory, and Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul have warned against unnecessary travel during the storm’s peak.

Snow is expected to taper off Shabbos morning into midday, but cold temperatures will limit melting, keeping roads slick. A second system Sunday night, bringing rain and warmer air, could melt snow quickly and trigger isolated flooding and travel problems into Monday.

After the storm clears, forecasters say an Arctic blast will move in to close out 2025, bringing bitter cold as the region heads into the new year.