Storm Watches Issued Across Hudson Valley

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Winter storm watches are now in effect for a storm expected to dump more than a foot of snow across the Hudson Valley, most of it at the south end.

The National Weather Service issued the watches Monday afternoon.

For Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, snow accumulations could reach 12 to 17 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph, especially along the coast.

For Dutchess and Ulster counties, snow totals could exceed 7 inches.

Snow should start earlier in the lower Hudson Valley. The watch goes into effect at 1 p.m. there and at 4 p.m. in the mid-Hudson.

Across the valley, the weather service said travel could be very difficult to impossible. Hazardous conditions could affect the Wednesday evening and Thursday morning commutes.

Forecasters acknowledged the final track of the storm will make the difference between a storm that dumps snow on the Hudson Valley and one that grazes us on its north edge.

What forecasters are comfortable saying now is that the storm will "wallop" the East Coast.

"The major midweek storm is set to unleash a foot of snow or more across parts of the central Appalachians, upper mid-Atlantic and southern New England, and part of the interior South is expected to get a thick glaze of ice as a drenching rain will pour down along the lower mid-Atlantic coast," said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist.