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X Winter Benchmark.png

Anatomy of a nor’easter and how it could impact New York City?

This location is 40 degrees latitude and 70 degrees longitude. It is not a random point. It is a critical global location for forecasting east coast snowstorms effecting our area.

Michael Latella

Jan 28, 2026, 6:05 AM

Updated

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Many meteorologists talk about the 40/70 benchmark.

This location is 40 degrees latitude and 70 degrees longitude. It is not a random point. It is a critical global location for forecasting east coast snowstorms effecting our area.

X_Winter_Benchmark.png 1.png

When storms pass directly over this point and other items, like temperature, are in place, we get a big snowstorm. If a storm passes closer to the coast, or inside that benchmark, we see more chances of rain. If a storm passes east of this point, we get a glancing blow with light snow or flurries.

Right now, our long-range models are leaning toward the last scenario....a near miss. One other model is calling for a total miss. There is still plenty of time to watch this, and we will.

X_Winter_Benchmark.png SCENARIO 2.png
X_Winter_Benchmark.png SCENARIO 3.png

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