The first major winter storm of the season struck upstate New York on Tuesday, with much of the region forecast to receive some significant snowfall by day’s end.
Precipitation from a “strengthening coastal storm” started falling overnight, first as a wintry mix, then as tendrils of snow Tuesday morning, at times falling at a rate of an inch an hour, according to the National Weather Service. While its not as fierce as past storms weathered by the region, it still created slick and dangerous driving conditions for the morning commute, and could also make for a “slippery” drive home in the evening hours, forecasters warned.
A snow plow is pictured in Cooperstown, New York, on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Kevin Macdonald / New York Daily News)
The snowfall was expected to peak around noon before it again turns into a wintry mix of ice and rain as the day goes on, meteorologists said. The precipitation should then start to taper off by 7 p.m. or so, but some isolated flurries could fall overnight in some areas.
With temperatures hovering above freezing, most spots were “too warm for snow,” the NWS said on X, but not in Orange County, where residents were told to expect between 3 and 5 inches. Western Passaic, northern Westchester, Putnam, northern Fairfield and northern New Haven Counties also had snowfall predictions, anywhere between 1 and 3 inches.
Pedestrians carry umbrellas as they walk in the rain in Midtown on Tuesday. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
A foot or more of snow was expected on hilltops and along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, according to the agency.
A winter storm warning — a serious alert warning of current or imminent hazardous winter weather — went into effect Tuesday morning and will remain through early Wednesday for an area spanning northeast from upstate New York to eastern Maine.
The rest of the tri-state area, including parts of New Jersey and New York City, mostly saw rain throughout the day, with temperatures hovering in the high 30s. New York City has seen some flakes this year, but has not recorded any significant snowfall for the season.