I dunno, I feel like coastal folks should have been keeping their expectations tempered. Not to say there still isn't potential for the coast to see some snow. NW areas, obviously, do better this time of year.
Why? The Euro gave several inches of snow for KNYC at 12z and 18z. Several other models show accumulating snowfall especially north and west of NYC which is within the metropolitan area.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I really see no problem here. A “snow alert” for a coating of snow isn’t overtly embellishing the forecast. They’re covering their bases, letting the public be aware snow is in the forecast saying a coating could happen. If it doesn’t happen no big deal.
0z Euro is warmer for the coast compared to 12z. Pretty wide swath of 6+ goes from the Lower Hudson Valley through southern New England. Coastal areas don't see much snow if any.
Boxing Day is why I became a member here. I got stuck at my sisters in Leonardo, NJ for almost a week. I have no idea how they got legitimate snow measurements down the shore because of the drifts. In a class of its own.
The guy can't type a grammatically accurate sentence for his life but the second half of this video is actually a pretty good explanation of teleconnections when it comes to snowstorms.