Two seasons in one day! All in a day's worth of Storm Watch Team coverage here at News 12.

A strong squall line pushed across the tri-state area Friday morning, with rare wintertime Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued for parts of New York City and New Jersey.

Allan Nosoff

Feb 18, 2022, 4:36 PM

Updated 1,022 days ago

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A strong squall line pushed across the tri-state area Friday morning, with rare wintertime Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued for parts of New York City and New Jersey. Gusts were recorded between 40 and 70 MPH across the region, including 58 MPH in Brooklyn, NY and 69 MPH in Barnegat, NJ.
February severe storms are quite uncommon but not unprecedented. A total of nine severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for New York City since record-keeping of warnings began in 1986. The last February severe thunderstorm warning in New York City was on Feb. 25, 2016. And only three severe warnings in the month of February contained a hail signature, until Friday's warning became the fourth.
While Friday's squall has pushed offshore, another squall arrives Saturday — but this time the wintry kind! A snow squall will develop across the Great Lakes tonight and pass through the Tri-State by midday tomorrow.
By definition, a squall is a quick-moving, narrow line of heavy precipitation and strong wind. Impacts from Saturday's winter-like squall line will be different from Friday's summer-like squall.
A summertime squall line contains strong-to-severe thunderstorms. Some produce downpours, frequent lightning, pea-size hail or greater, and damaging winds of 58+ mph. Downed trees, power lines, and rapidly deteriorating travel conditions are the main impacts. Friday's squall certainly contained summer-like characteristics.
A wintertime squall line, contains a burst of heavy snow and gusty winds of 40+ mph. Snow can accumulate quickly because of the intense snowfall rates, typically of 1" or greater per hour. Reduced visibility and hazardous driving conditions are the biggest impacts from a snow squall. Those impacts are in the forecast across northwestern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley on Saturday.
However, no matter the season, all squalls are fast-moving. Squall lines typically move at 40 to 60+ MPH and last about 15-to-30 minutes.
The News 12 Storm Watch Team will continue to track this upcoming threat, and all future systems from snow squalls to coastal storms, on-air and online. Make sure you download the News 12 app to get the latest weather alerts sent straight to your smart device!
If you have any photos or videos from Friday's storms or take any photos during Saturday's snow squall, make sure to tag us by using the hashtag #n12stormwatchers, your photos and videos may make it on-air!