Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service New York NY
421 AM EST Sat Feb 21 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Blizzard warnings have been issued for Long Island, New York
City, and the Connecticut coast.
Winter storm warnings have been issued for interior southern
Connecticut, the Lower Hudson Valley, and northeast New Jersey.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1) An intense coastal storm will bring heavy snowfall and
strong winds from Sunday into Monday. Blizzard conditions are
expected along the coast with near-blizzard conditions across
interior southern Connecticut, the Lower Hudson Valley, and
northeast New Jersey Sunday night into the first half of
Monday.
2) Potential for widespread moderate to locally major coastal
flooding and dune erosion/overwashes Sunday night. Additional
coastal flooding is possible on Monday.
3) Low pressure and a cold front will bring another chance for
precipitation during mid next week. Temperatures rising into the
40s by the end of the week will allow for snow melt.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
.KEY MESSAGE 1...
Confidence has increased to the point where winter storm and
blizzard warnings have been issued across the forecast area.
A major winter storm is forecast to impact the area Sunday into
Monday. Model guidance has congealed in taking a deepening low
off the Mid Atlantic coast Sunday northeast to near the 40N...70W
benchmark Monday. This track is often favorable for all snow
across the region. The low undergoes explosive deepening in 12h,
tracking from near the North Carolina coast Sunday afternoon to
east of the Delmarva Sunday night. Most of the guidance shows
pressure falls on the order of 25 to 30 mb in 12 hour. The low
deepens to around 970 mb as it approaches the benchmark Monday
morning.
This storm, expected to be early 1000 miles across in diameter,
will produce heavy precipitation and gale to storm force winds
over the adjacent coastal waters. Model soundings show boundary
layer winds along the coast 40-60kt with decent mixing. Coastal
locations can expect to see gusts up 40 to 50 mph, possibly even
stronger across far eastern LI and southeast CT. Even inland
area will see near blizzard conditions with winds just a bit
weaker. The highest winds will occur Sunday night into the
first half of Monday.
Liquid equivalent amounts of around an inch across far NW
portions of Orange county will be near an inch, with upward of
an 1.5" at the coast. There is even some guidance suggestive of
amount around 2 inches at the coast. However, while there is
good overall agreement in the guidance, there still have been
small adjustments east and west and a consenus forecast (blend
of WPC and NBM) was used. Snow ratios are expected to start of
around 10:1 and then possibly get up to 12-13:1. Temperatures
initially on Sunday may get into the lower and mid 30s, expect
most locations to fall to around freezing if not lower as the
heavy snow develops in the afternoon. So ratios right off the
bat along he coast may even be lower for a short time.
Snowfall amounts of 14 to 18 inches are forecast along the coast
with 10 to 14 inches across the interior. NBM deterministic
forecasts point to amounts of 14 to 24 inches across the area,
highest along the coast. But due to some wobbling of the low
track a bit, we do want to see more continuity. NBM 90th
percentile has amounts of 2 to 3 ft. The 00Z LREF (EPS, GEPS,
and GEFS) mean has about a foot at the coast and 7 to 8 inches
across far western sections of Orange County in the Lower Hudson
Valley. The EPS is contributing lower amounts with a more
eastern solution. Should it come a bit more west, than the
higher totals are not out of the realm possibility.
Snow is forecast to develop from SW to NE on Sunday, in the
morning from NYC and points north and west, and the in the
afternoon for the remainder of the area. The heaviest snow and
wind will be Sunday night into Monday morning. Snow will end
from west to east during the afternoon hours.
.KEY MESSAGE 2...
Strengthening E-NE winds Sunday into Sunday night could produce
a surge of 2.5-3.5 ft, producing widespread moderate to
locally major coastal flooding along the back bays of western
Suffolk and srn Nassau, Peconic Bay, and western Long Island
Sound, and widespread minor to locally moderate flooding in NY
Harbor and Jamaica Bay, the lower Hudson River, and ern Long
Island Sound. The main high tide cycle of concern is Sunday
night. Areas of dune erosion are likely, with localized
overwashes possible along the ocean beachfront Sunday night into
Monday morning.
Additional coastal flooding will likely linger into the
Monday afternoon high tide cycle, with a strong northerly flow
limiting impacts somewhat to minor/locally moderate categories.