Feb. 22 (UPI) -- More than 3,000 flights were delayed or canceled by Wednesday afternoon, because of a blast of winter weather across large parts of the Untied States.
A winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service remained in place as of 3 p.m. EST, stretching from the West Coast to the Midwest, with snowfall and low temperatures expected to last into Thursday, according to the latest update.
The below-season average weather extended into parts of Pennsylvania and New England, as well.
A total of 3,211 flights within into, or out of the United States were delayed as of 3 p.m. EST, according to tracking app Flightaware.
"A prolonged major winter storm will continue to bring widespread heavy snow and blizzard conditions to portions of the West, the northern Plains, and the upper Midwest through tonight and into Thursday as a series of low pressure waves traverse an Arctic cold front draped from the Intermountain West east across the central Plains and Midwest," the weather service said in a statement.
The blizzard has the potential to set snowfall records in some areas. Up to 2 inches of snow per hour could fall in some areas, accumulating up to 18 inches before a reprieve.
Snowfall is expected to be heaviest from the upper Midwest into the Northeast, with up to 1 foot of snow forecast through Thursday.
"This series of low pressure waves that will make up this coast-to-coast winter storm will bring heavy snow and locally significant ice from the upper Midwest into the Northeast as well, and many of these areas are expected to see an additional 6 to 12 inches of snow," the weather service said in its update.
Sustained winds could hit up to 40 mph, with gusts as strong as 50 mph, amid the heavy snow, frozen rain and potential flash flooding. Factoring in the windchill, temperatures could drop as low as 50 degrees below zero in some locations.
Various winter weather warnings remained in effect in 29 states Wednesday afternoon. Six of those state received severe blizzard warnings.
"Please remember to stay alert for these machines, do not crowd the snowplows, & do everything you can to help keep your fellow motorists, our snowplow operators & yourself safe," the California Department of Transportation Tweeted Wednesday, expecting near-blizzard conditions.
While snow in the Northeast and Midwest will taper off by the end of Thursday, California is expected to be hit hard through the rest of the week, though mostly at higher elevations, with heavy rain expected in lower spots. Multiple rounds of snow are expected to fall by late Friday through the weekend, in-part due to a new storm system developing off the West Coast.
"Going through the end of the week, the multiple rounds of new snowfall should accumulate to as much as 3 to 5 feet for the Sierra Nevada, with locally heavier totals for the highest peaks. Lesser amounts of 1 to 2 feet are forecast elsewhere across portions of the Great Basin and into the Four Corners region," the weather service said in its most-recent update.
Widespread heavy snow will continue to expand across the West and Northern tier of the country on Wednesday with additional moisture associated with a pair of Pacific fronts.
"Numerous weather hazards and highly anomalous temperatures (are expected) coast-to-coast, with almost all of the country experiencing some form of notable weather," the weather service warned Wednesday morning.
That will combine with increasingly warm and moist air streaming into the East from the Gulf of Mexico. The warmer air will clash with the arctic air surging in from Canada to fuel heavy snow rates.
"Extremely cold air will continue across many areas of the West and stretching out across the northern High Plains and the upper Midwest going through at least Thursday with the proximity of deep Arctic air. Temperatures will locally be as much as 30 to 40 degrees below average, with many locations especially over the northern High Plains seeing temperatures well below zero," according to the NWS.
Four to eight inches of snow is forecast from upstate New York into central New England, with locally higher totals of more than a foot for the higher elevations including the Adirondacks and the Green and White Mountains
