Tag: Lake Effect Snow

Americans in many parts of the country will begin 2026 amid frosty temperatures, heavy snow or potentially intense rainfall, depending on where they live. 

Weather forecasts for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day show another bout of lake effect snowfall hitting the Great Lakes and parts of the Northeast, after a powerful winter storm system brought heaps of snow and high winds to both regions, as well as parts of the Midwest, in the days since Christmas. Meanwhile, wet weather is moving into California to mark the New Year and will head toward the Northwest later this week. 

It will be frigid across the North and the East, meteorologists say, with temperatures expected to be 10 or 20 degrees below the average for this time of year in those regions. In the West, things will be warmer than average, with temperatures between 15 and 25 higher than average.

Lake effect snow

Lake effect snowfall continues to pile up Wednesday in areas downwind of the Great Lakes, with parts of western New York and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula seeing the highest totals. And more is on its way: Some locations could receive between 1 and 3 feet of snow by New Year’s Day, including places that have already been pummeled by recent winter storms that brought as much as 2 feet of snow in the last 48 hours.

The National Weather Service has issued lake effect snow warnings for a number of towns and cities in northern Ohio, upstate New York and western Pennsylvania, which are set to remain in effect through Thursday. The agency’s weather forecast office in Albany warned that conditions could impede travel, especially because they may change unexpectedly. 

“During lake effect snow, the weather can vary from bands of locally heavy snow to dry weather just a few miles away. Visibilities can also vary greatly,” the NWS Albany office wrote in a message accompanying its latest warning. “Be prepared for rapid changes in weather, visibility, and road conditions.”

Cold front approaches East Coast

Colder air is settling in across the East Coast, as the area braces for yet another cold front that is expected to move through in the coming days, CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan said.

In New York City, revelers who are expected to gather in droves to watch the annual ball drop in Times Square will likely experience the chilliest event in eight years, said CBS New York meteorologist Matthew DeLucia. Temperatures are forecast to hover just above freezing, with cooler wind chills, and flurries or a snow shower could materialize close to midnight.

Other cities along the I-95 corridor, like Boston, could see similar conditions as they ring in 2026. As New Year’s Day arrives, a burst of heavier snow is possible in the Boston area and across southeastern Massachusetts, CBS News Boston reported.  

Western storms

The southwestern United States is currently experiencing a spell of rain, which will move northward over the next couple of days and bring snowfall to the Sierra Nevada, said Nolan.

Much of Southern California will get heavy rain starting on the morning of New Year’s Day, according to the National Weather Service, which said there is a “slight risk of excessive rainfall” for portions of that region. 

Major cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento could be affected, as well as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada.

The weather service has also issued flood watches for parts of Southern California, which will remain effective through the evening on New Year’s Day.

In the Los Angeles area, this storm is expected to bring as much as 1 inch of rainfall per hour at its peak, which should begin at around 10 p.m. PT on New Year’s Eve, CBS News Los Angeles reported. Most inland and coastal places in that area could see up to 2 inches of rainfall accumulate between Wednesday morning and Thursday night, with more expected in the mountains, according to the station.