Spring Nor'easter Predicted to Slam Northeast— and It Could Bring Up to a Foot of Snow

A rare Nor'easter is expected to bring heavy snow to a large area of New York and portions of Pennsylvania on Monday night, making for potentially messy travel conditions, but offering the possibility of late spring skiing.

The spring Nor'easter is forecast to drop 6 to 8 inches of snow across the Pocono, Adirondack, and Catskill mountains, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, with some higher elevation areas seeing up to a foot of powder. And the snow is expected to fall fast with 1 to 2 inches per hour likely late Monday night into Tuesday.

"This heavy and wet snow will likely be hazardous and disruptive to travel and may lead to downed trees and power outages," the NWS warned, adding travel conditions will worsen "due to the slushy, snow-covered roads."

The snow may reach into the Hudson, Mohawk, and Champlain Valleys, while further out, Boston is expected to see rain and wind with gusts reaching as high as 38 mph, according to the NWS.

The storm will start as a wave of low pressure in the Southeast that will track up the Carolina coast Monday afternoon and strengthen off the Mid-Atlantic coast Monday evening, according to the NWS. That precipitation is expected to turn to snow in the northern Appalachians with Winter Storm Watches posted for parts of upstate New York and far northeast Pennsylvania from Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon.

"Lake effect snow showers will persist on the backside of the storm as it tracks through northern New England on Tuesday and temperatures will be cold enough to make it seem as though the calendar reads 'February' and not 'April,'" the NWS noted.

While the unexpected spring storm will make for potentially messy travel conditions, it will also be a boost to the Northeast ski resorts that are still open. Both Lake Placid's Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain in the Adirondack Mountains, are scheduled to be open Saturday and Sunday, weather and conditions permitting.

"Spring skiing means variable conditions with areas of thin cover and bare spots," Gore Mountain wrote on its website, adding, "as always have fun while skiing with care."

The snowfall in the Northeast comes on the heels of another storm in California that gave a much-needed boost to ski mountains with up to 3 feet of snow falling in some places.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.