1 of 2 | Last month, deep snow snarled trucks and cars on Interstate 264. There's yet another winter storm forming now for large parts of the nation, forecasters say. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI |
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There's yet another winter storm brewing. This one, centered on the weekend, will dump accumulating snow in at least 20 states east of the Rockies. AccuWeather meteorologists warn there is also a winter storm that bears watching for the southern and eastern coasts of the United States next week.
"Storms have been on a fast track across the U.S. since the start of the month, and the next one on deck will be no exception," AccuWeather Senior Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. "Most storms have been crossing the country in three days."
As people enjoy time in the snow on sleds and skis and crews clean up the highways and airports from the Upper Midwest to the Northeast from the most recent storm, a new wintry onslaught is already brewing for much of the same area this weekend. The moisture from that storm brought inches of rain and feet of mountain snow to California on Thursday.
While the storm will have to regroup after crossing the rugged terrain of the Rockies on Friday, it should quickly grab moisture first from the Gulf then the Atlantic this weekend as it races along.
Snow will begin on Friday over portions of the northern and central Plains then spread quickly eastward across the rest of the Upper Midwest on Friday night and Saturday, then the Northeast from Saturday to Saturday night.
A broad area where 3-6 inches of snow will fall is forecast for the storm, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. Cities expected to pick up enough snow to shovel and plow include Minneapolis Des Moines, Iowa Chicago Detroit Cleveland Buffalo and Albany, New York Burlington, Vermont Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts Manchester, New Hampshire and Portland and Augusta, Maine.
Direct airline delays are anticipated in these locations due to deicing operations. Ripple-effect flight cancelations will be possible across the U.S.
This storm will differ just a bit from the Wednesday to Thursday storm in the Midwest since it will track a bit farther south. That means some snow will fall and accumulate along Interstate 70 in the Midwest and portions of western Pennsylvania, as well as along much of I-80 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In the Northeast, a sharp gradation in snow accumulation is likely as cold air will put up a fight.
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The big snowfall ramp-up zone is most likely to be across central New York and central New England, with 1 to locally 3 inches in northern Pennsylvania, Hartford, Connecticut and just north of New York City, to 6-12 inches of snow along I-90 in New York and 12-18 inches in the northern portions of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It is in northern New England and adjacent areas of Canada where the AccuWeather Local StormMax&trade of 24 inches is most likely to be approached.
A wintry mix that is forecast to change to rain at the height of the storm will extend along and south of I-84 and 86 in New York and the Connecticut and Massachusetts Turnpikes in New England.
All or mostly rain is forecast for Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The combination of rain and melting snow can lead to flooding in poor drainage areas.
From the central Appalachians to the Ohio Valley, there is concern that enough rain may fall with a period of mild air to trigger ice jams and flooding along some streams and secondary rivers, AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham stated earlier this week. That remains a concern with this upcoming storm.
AccuWeather meteorologists are continuing to watch how atmospheric conditions will stack up for a storm next week. The storm will form as a press of Arctic air advances from the Plains to the Atlantic coast.
"A storm will be moving along and ahead of that Arctic boundary, and depending on its track and intensity, it can bring heavy snow from parts of the central Plains to the mid-Atlantic and New England," DePodwin said.
Should all the right pieces fall into place, this could be the biggest snowstorm of the winter for portions of the central and southern Plains and the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
"It has the potential to evolve into a strong nor'easter--something we haven't seen much of this season," DePodwin warned.
The storm, slated for the middle of next week, should be the caboose in the long train that began around the start of the month.
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