Tracking rain, snow and wind for Thursday commute around NYC

NEW YORK -- A wintry mix of rain, snow and blustery winds will blow into New York City on Thursday, and the biggest impact could be during the morning commute.  

A winter weather advisory has been issued for Sullivan and Ulster counties north of the city, but the five boroughs aren't expecting to see much accumulation from this system. 

Rockefeller Center tree lighting forecast

You basically dressed for the 30s Wednesday and there were expected to be a few drops or flakes at night.

A clipper system is racing through the Great Lakes right now. By Thursday morning, it will be on top of us, and by the afternoon, it will be gone.

First Alert Weather Day for Thursday

Temperatures will actually climb overnight, so any precipitation will tend to be liquid for the city and points south, and could be more of the wintry variety north. The issue Thursday will be snow reaching the ground, because the temperatures will be fairly warm overnight, and the freezing line is north. Once the bulk of the moisture moves out, temperatures will actually plummet during the day, as we get back to sunshine. 

Winter weather advisories call for at least a few inches of snow across Sullivan and Ulster counties. Closer to the city, accumulations will only be around a tenth of an inch or two, and that's if we're lucky. Otherwise, it's going to be wet flakes not accumulating, with the exception of grassy surfaces and car tops.

Regarding the winds, they'll peak around 45-50 mph during the day. That said, the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory across much of the area. The MTA has banned empty tractor-trailers and tandem trailers from bridges from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. due to high winds Thursday. 

It will be nice to see some of our suburbs receive their first measurable snow of the season, but this pattern looks to be very short lived, with the return of milder temperatures and precipitation in the form of rain by next week.

Stick with our First Alert Weather team for the latest forecast, live radar and weather alerts.