ALBANY — Snow? Maybe so.
Temperatures in the Capital Region will be cool enough for wintry weather by Monday, including potential wet snow showers and frost further south in the mid and lower Hudson Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
The opposite may happen this week. Between Sunday and Monday night, lows could bottom out at 26 degrees before creeping back up into the 40s by the latter half of the week, the National Weather Service predicts.
“April’s a tough month … you can still get those frosts or freezes, but it’s not atypical for April,” said meteorologist Tom Wasula of the National Weather Service in Albany.
Should it snow, Wasula doesn’t expect flakes to stick.
The chilly weather will be felt as far south as Orange County Airport in the town of Montgomery. According to the National Weather Service in New York City, temperatures in Orange County are expected to hit the lower 30s on Sunday night and mid-20s by Monday night before warming up.
Frosts aren’t expected to have a major effect on agriculture yet, as the regional growing season begins on May 1, according to Wasula.
However, Donald Dunbar, owner of Middleburgh Winery in Schoharie County, is still cautious. Three years ago, his grapes were decimated by a frost. So far this year, he said that he’s avoided weather that would disturb his fickle crop.
“We do have some buds out,” Dunbar said. “It’ll be interesting to see if they’re out far enough or not if we do get that 20-some-degree weather.”
Typically, Wasula said, most producers in the area will be in the clear by June 1. He said he often advises growers to be careful until Memorial Day.
“It gets a little bit harder as you get to the end of May to be in the mid-20s or upper-20s,” Wasula said. “But frost can be an issue until very late May.”