Icy, Frozen Friday for New York, Pennsylvania

By Dan Depodwin, Meteorologist

January 10,2013; 8:10PM,EST

The last day of the workweek could turn icy across the interior Northeast and southeastern Canada. Pockets of freezing rain and drizzle are expected late Thursday night into Friday.

The same storm that brought flooding rainfall to Texas and Louisiana will spread northward today. Although the storm brought deluges of rain to the South, it will lose its punch of heavy rainfall by Friday morning.

While the storm will have less moisture by the time it reaches the Northeast, the atmospheric setup is conducive for freezing rain to cause treacherous travel for the Friday morning commute. As warm air flows northward high in the atmosphere, a very shallow layer of subfreezing temperatures at the surface will cause any rain that falls to freeze.
Residents in northern Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York can expect slick conditions late Thursday night and Friday morning before temperatures climb above freezing. Locales in the Adirondacks and around Syracuse could experience their slickest conditions through noon Friday.
Warmer temperatures in the metropolitan areas of the Northeast will prevent any icing but those with travel plans towards the Poconos or Catskills should watch for slick road conditions.

Major interstates that could turn into sheets of ice include I-80 and I-81 in Pennsylvania along with I-86, I-87, I-88, and I-90 in New York.
Farther north and west, a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected in southern Ontario and Quebec. While all liquid will fall in Toronto and Montreal, places north and west of those cities will deal with wintry weather.
While significant ice accretion is not anticipated, even just an icy glaze can cause major travel issues. Untreated sidewalks and parking lots will also become slick.
By Friday evening, the icy weather should move into northern Maine as precipitation tapers off across the interior Northeast.
In the wake of this frozen Friday, temperatures will turn milder this weekend with many locations climbing in the 50s! The unusual warmth should continue into the early part of next week.

While icy conditions plague the East to close the week, a major winter storm will unfold in the Plains, causing blizzard conditions.

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