Freezing Rain Possible Tomorrow

School Forecast
For Friday January 31st
Last updated: 1:30PM Thursday January 30, 2025

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1:45PM Thursday:

A storm will move through the area tomorrow bringing rain. It now appears likely that areas of freezing rain will develop at the beginning of the storm, which will make for slick spots around the region.

The Forecast:

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for freezing rain which is in effect for all of eastern NY from 4AM Friday to 1PM Friday, which means that hazardous travel is possible. Up to 0.1 inches of ice is possible in the Advisory area. That said, let's zoom in on Ulster County. Temperatures in Ulster County will fall below freezing tonight, likely reaching the mid-20s. Temperatures will likely rise above freezing between 9AM and 11AM Friday. This means that the extent of freezing rain will depend on how quickly the storm moves in. At this time, the storm is likely to begin entering Ulster County from the south between 7AM and 9AM. The storm may may not begin in the Kingston area until 10AM or later. This means that areas south of Kingston are more likely to see an extended period of freezing rain with a relatively brief period mid-morning in Kingston.

The Impacts:

Freezing rain will likely create areas of slick roads and walkways Friday morning, especially in southern Ulster County. Around Kingson, slick areas are possible. If the storm moves in earlier (around 7AM), then widespread slick roads will be possible by the time freezing rain turns to rain. If the storm moves in later (around 10AM), then roads may very well end up being just wet from late morning rain. As far as schools, impacts are most likely to our south across Orange and Sullivan counties where freezing rain will begin the earliest. Here in Ulster County, school impacts will largely depend on how cautious districts want to be. Northern districts like Kingston and Saugerties could potentially begin classes before any freezing rain arrives and dismiss safely in the afternoon, or they could cancel classes for the day out of an abundance of caution. Given that Kingston has only used one snow day this winter, the cautious approach may be slightly more likely. This would be similar to the "snow day" that ocurred on January 23, 2024. During that storm, light freezing rain/snow was possible before noon with rain afternoon; however, cold rain began falling in Kingston around 10AM with just wet roads in the area - Kingston cancelled classes, Saugerties had an early dismissal.

Next Update:
At 10PM Tonight

-Ethan

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6:00PM Tuesday:

A snow squall this morning brought a dusting of snow to parts of the Kingston area. We'll see another round of light snow tonight with rain likely by the end of the week.

The Forecast:

A weak storm system is about to enter New York State. This storm will bring a couple hours of light snow tonight. Snow is most likely between 10PM and 3AM. A dusting to an inch of accumulation is possible. There could be a couple of passing flurries or snow showers during the day on Wednesday, but otherwise it'll be dry and windy. Wind gusts up to 35 mph are possible. The dry weather will linger through Thursday night. Friday morning, our next system will bring mainly rain to the region. There could be some wet snowflakes or patchy freezing drizzle if the storm arrives early enough in the morning, however, this is not currently likely. After a round of dry weather on Saturday we could see another shot at light snow Sunday afternoon and evening - any accumulations would likely be under 4 inches and probably end by midnight.

The Impacts:

Only minor weather impacts are expected this week. Tonight, slick roads are possible from the light coating of snow that will likely fall. If schools were in session tomorrow, there would be about a 30% chance of a two-hour delay in Kingston. On Friday, no particular impacts are expected from the rain. We will have to watch if patchy freezing drizzle is able to develop early Friday morning, because that could make for slick spots and a couple of two-hour delays. However, there is currently a relatively low risk of the freezing rain actually happening in the Kingston area. And then Sunday evening, light snow could make for some slick roads. There's currently about a 20% chance of delays on Monday.

Next Update:
This weekend

-Ethan 🙂