REGION – As he removed snow from his driveway with a metal shovel on Wednesday morning, Hortonville resident Hakim Talbi said, “I have to get to it before it’s too late.” When asked if there is more snow to come this season, Talbi said, “Oh yeah, it’s gonna be a long winter.”

After several tame winters, Sullivan County woke up to nearly a foot of snow on Tuesday morning, as shovels, snow-blowers, and plows all got their first use of the season. 

Was this a foreshadowing of things to come this winter, or just a one-off event? The Democrat reached out to meteorologist Bryan Greenblatt at The National Weather Service to get his take on the storm and find out his predictions for the winter of 2025-2026. 

Greenblatt said Sullivan County received between 7 and 10 inches during this storm, with the highest snowfall reports coming from Liberty, Callicoon Center and Mongaup Valley. 

“This was a quick-hitting event,” he said. “It happened all in one day. If the storm had strengthened off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it would have been stronger.” 

Greenblatt, who is stationed in Binghamton, said Sullivan County got the heaviest snowfall within his forecast region, with other areas receiving less than 7 inches. 

The National Weather Service is expecting an Arctic Front carrying deep, cold arctic air to move through Sullivan County this week, bringing temperatures into the single digits by early Friday morning.

Greenblatt said we are currently in a La Nina event, which means the surface water of the Pacific Ocean is colder than normal. This extra-cold water influences global weather patterns and tends to shift the Pacific jet stream further north, causing colder than normal temperatures in the Northeastern United States. 

Despite these La Nina conditions, Greenblatt said he expects a near normal winter, though he pointed to 2020’s 40-inch snowstorm as an example of how an otherwise normal winter’s snowfall can be skewed by a single event. 

Now that it’s December, Greenblatt said we are in “meteorological winter” and to expect regular periods of snow, wintery mix and freezing rain. He urged residents to keep a close eye on the weather forecast and to avoid driving during storms, but if it’s necessary, Greenblatt suggested leaving plenty of room between you and the car in front of you.