Syracuse, N.Y. — A couple of days ago, it looked like a cross-country storm that could drop a foot of snow in places like Nashville would slide just south of Upstate New York.
Not anymore.
The latest forecasts show that the track of the storm is likely to nudge farther north than previously expected, which could bring snow to Upstate on Sunday.
“Confidence continues to increase for an impactful winter storm Sunday morning through Monday morning,” the National Weather Service said. “While there does remain uncertainty in the forecast, there are increasing chances for widespread accumulating snowfall.”
There’s a 50% chance of Central New York getting 7 inches of snow Sunday into Monday, the weather service said. Some lake effect snow could be drawn in as the storm pulls away Monday.
Earlier forecasts had indicated that the strong high pressure system that will bring bitterly cold temperatures this week would keep the snow at bay. But that area of high pressure, known as a ridge, now looks like it will start drifting north, allowing the snow from the south to slide in behind it.
Snow and freezing rain are possible from Arizona to the Northeast. There’s a 50% chance Nashville will get a foot of snow, and the odds are even higher in the hills of Kentucky and West Virginia.
Freezing rain could fall just south of the snow line, causing slick roads and power outages in the South.
AccuWeather, a private forecasting company, said electricity could be knocked out for days for hundreds of thousands of people.
