Potentially stormy end of the week...(2-5-130

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(WSYR-TV)

Reported by: Jim Teske

Email: stormteam@9wsyr.com

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Published: 2/05 5:48 pm

Updated: 2/05 5:51 pm

You are going to quickly start to hear more about a storm for the end of the week along the East Coast. The reason is the GFS model from this afternoon is looking more like what the European has been showing all week: A developing storm system in the southern branch of the jet stream deepening rapidly as it curves northeast off the East Coast. Here is a view of what the GFS is now showing for Friday morning.

Even though you are going to hear a lot about this coastal storm the next couple days, here in central New York I think we need to keep closer track of the energy that shows up in the northern branch of the jet stream. It is that energy that will add fuel to our coastal system. It shows up at the surface as a weak area of low pressure in northwest Pennsylvania on the maps above. That northern system (not the coastal storm) will track almost right over us Friday and it is that system that brings us accumulating snow.

While the GFS model has come in line with the European model for Friday, not all models are jumping on the bandwagon just yet. One of our shorter term models, the NAM, has gone out in time just far enough the last couple runs to show Friday. This model looks very different with a weaker coastal storm located farther south than the other models.

Looking at that map from the NAM makes for at least a touch of uncertainty. This event is still about three days out in time so it is too early to throw out specific snow accumulations. The purpose of this blog is to give you a heads up that accumulating snow is looking more and more likely for Friday. This would be a widespread snow, not like the isolated lake effect snow from earlier in the week.