Most of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. is expected to bear the brunt of winter storms this weekend through to early next week.
Before the major system hits, however, light snow fell across portions of the Northeast on Friday afternoon. This system may produce 1 to 2 inches of snow from Maryland to southern New Jersey through Friday night.
Parts of the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to New York will see a period of light snow through the evening commute.
But about 45 million people are under winter alerts from Kansas to Maryland for a much larger and more impactful winter storm. It will cover the eastern two-thirds of the nation from Saturday to Monday.
“Impacts will start in the Central Plains by late Saturday, then across the Ohio Valley on Sunday where severe travel disruptions are expected,” the National Weather Service said on X. “The storm will then track into the Mid-Atlantic Sunday night and into Monday.”
Heavy snow, significant ice and thunderstorms will track from the Rocky Mountains to the East coast, leading to dangerous travel conditions. Cities such as St. Louis, Indianapolis and Cincinnati may see the worst of the snow and ice, with snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches and ice accumulations of .25 to 5 inches. These conditions can bring down tree limbs and cause power outages.
“A combination of wind gusts greater than 35 mph and heavy snowfall rates may lead to blizzard conditions in the Central Plains by Sunday morning,” the weather service said on X. “Whiteout conditions will make driving dangerous to impossible, and raise the risk of becoming stranded.”
On Sunday, severe storms will rumble across the South and could impact seven million people from southeast Texas to Mississippi and southern Tennessee.
“Hazardous sleet and freezing rain are anticipated from eastern Kansas and the Ozarks, extending eastward to the Ohio Valley,” the weather service said. “Icing is also likely for parts of the central Appalachians on Sunday into Sunday night. Treacherous travel conditions are expected, with power outages likely in areas with over a quarter-inch of ice accumulation due to freezing rain.”
Monday will be a messy day in the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast as the storm impacts Pittsburgh, Richmond, Washington D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia. The heaviest snowfall totals may impact the area south of New York City.
Behind this storm, Arctic air will spill down from Canada and temperatures for much of next week will be well below average from the northern Plains to the Southeast.
Steve Strouss
