Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 19
Fox5NY: Forecast models showing a major snowstorm for the New York City area this weekend have been making the rounds on social media. But in reality, that’s only one model. At the same time, another model shows snow, but in a lighter form.
In the U.S., the two most popular models you’ll see mentioned on social media are the Global Forecast System (GFS), also colloquially known as “The American Model”, and the model run by the ECMWF, the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, colloquially known as “The European” model, or “Euro” for short.
NOAA runs the GFS with support from several other U.S. research and government entities. The ECMWF is based in England but is a private consortium supported by 34 European countries.
There are different models run by government weather agencies, but the Euro and GFS are the two you’ll hear about most often.
The American model is the one that has been making all the rounds on social media. For the better part of the past two days, it has been showing a major snowstorm for much of the East Coast.
Storms like this tend to give certain areas not just multiple inches of snow, but the potential for feet of snowfall.
“The European model gives us very little, while the American model brings a moderate storm, but mainly to our south, Woods said.
Woods says “it just seems like that’s been our overall weather pattern so far this winter season at it seems most logical that things would stay that way.”
It’s cold!
Meanwhile, the current cold air will have staying power, with forecast models indicating it will remain locked in the East in various magnitudes through the end of the month, the FOX Forecast Center said.
This will all but ensure the East Coast has its first colder-than-average January since 2022, and perhaps the coldest since 2014 or 2011.
