Storm Pounds the Northeast

Thursday 1PM

Mild air on the east side of the massive storm that is now moving from the Middle Atlantic states into New England brought some rain to Boston (where it changed to heavy snow) and the New York City to Philadelphia corridor (where heavy snow fell this morning). To the north and west of these cities, ground level temperatures remain at or below freezing, producing a hazardous mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain. In the middle of Pennsylvania, a heavy snow band has slowly moved northwestward. Earlier, it was causing snowfall rates of 1-3 inches per hour as it moves through the I-78 corridor in New Jersey and east-central Pennsylvania, but by 1 PM was causing heavy snow from the Wilkes-Barre Scranton area southwest to State College, Lewistown and Altoona on southwest to Cumberland and Frostburg Maryland. This video explains what should happen next.

Once this storm leaves, dry chilly air will take over in the Northeast tomorrow. It appears that another disturbance will move to the Ohio Valley tomorrow night, then blossom into a larger storm when it moves off the Middle Atlantic coast on Saturday. There could be a few inches of snow from parts of northern Virginia through New Jersey. This map shows how the nam.wrf model portrays it. This nap shows predicted precipitation between 1AM and 7AM ET Saturday.

Using the color scale on the right, multiply the values by 10 to estimate snow accumulation in that period (the map shows liquid equivalents).