Bitter Chill on Tap for Sunday Morning After Wet, Windy Saturday Storm

With only one week to go before the official start of spring, a late winter storm hit the tri-state Saturday, delivering what could be the season's final bout of snow.

The powerful storm slammed the northeastern United States Saturday, dumping heavy snow from northern New England through the Adirondacks, central New York and Pennsylvania before frigid temps return.

By definition, the system is expected to be a "bomb cyclone," which is a term used to characterize a rapidly intensifying storm system.

To be a bomb cyclone, a storm has to exhibit a 24 millibar pressure drop in 24 hours. Dropping pressure indicates that a storm is strengthening. The larger the pressure drop, the more intense the storm. The pressure drop from 1 a.m. Saturday through early Saturday evening will be closer to 30 millibars.

For the tri-state area, the storm brought plenty of rainfall for those along the immediate coast, with everyone further inland getting a light dusting to a few inches of snowfall.

New York City officially recorded just a trace of snow, while the large New Jersey suburbs got an inch or two. Parts of northwest Jersey topped 5 inches, but the jackpot was in Pennsylvania's Pike County, where 8 inches fell.

And the cold?

For roads that get wet during the day Saturday, expect flash freezing overnight as temperatures plummet well below freezing. That could create dangerously icy conditions, particularly on any untreated roads.

Sunday itself will be very chilly – but sunny! The storm will pull a batch of arctic air into the region that will keep temperatures in the mid-20s early Sunday with highs in the 30s. The wind chill will make it feel colder than that, into the single digits for parts of the region.

The cold will stick around for a frigid Sunday with temps capping out around 39 degrees, but that cold blast will be brief. Temperatures should run about 10 degrees above average for most of next week, leading to any accumulating snow to melt, with highs ranging from the mid-50s to 60.

The anticipated mess comes at the end of a volatile weather pattern that tore down trees and power lines across much of the tri-state area, especially New Jersey, on Monday night. Tens of thousands were left without power as 60 mph wind gusts moved through along with heavy rains -- and one of New Jersey Transit's busiest lines has been suspended until further notice because of trees on the track.

Stay on top of the approaching weather using our interactive radar below.