Snow squalls forecast to bring dangerous travel conditions across New York and New England
Heavy snow squalls are forecast to hit much of the U.S. Northeast through Thursday, December 4, 2025, with New York State and parts of New England expected to see the strongest impacts. The snow squalls, triggered by an Arctic surge, will create dangerous travel conditions across key routes, including the I-90 corridor.
Satellite image of the U.S. Northeast at 11:20 UTC on December 4, 2025. Credit: NOAA/GOES-19, Zoom Earth, The Watchers
An Arctic front is forecast to move through the Great Lakes and the Northeast U.S. through Thursday, possibly bringing snow squalls that will rapidly reduce visibility, create icy roads, and make travel extremely hazardous throughout the day.
Snow squalls will begin moving from northwest to southeast across New York, as well as northern and north-central New England, during the early hours of Thursday.
Much of New York State, along with Vermont and New Hampshire, has more than a 60% chance of snow squalls through Thursday, while surrounding areas have about a 20% chance.
Travel conditions along major routes, including I-90, I-81, I-87, and I-89, are expected to be hazardous.
The Arctic surge is being driven by a shifting polar vortex that is drawing frigid air from the North Pole into the U.S. this month. This setup is expected to continue bringing waves of Arctic air and below-average temperatures across the U.S. through early and mid-December.
Snow squalls are intense, but limited-duration periods of moderate to heavy snowfall, accompanied by gusty surface winds. They result in reduced visibility and whiteout conditions, making them key wintertime weather hazard.
Squalls can occur where there is no large-scale winter storm in progress and might only produce minor accumulations.
Unfortunately, there is a long history of deadly traffic accidents associated with snow squalls. Although snow accumulations are typically an inch or less, the combination of gusty winds, falling temperatures, and rapidly diminishing visibility can create extremely dangerous conditions for motorists.
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.