In a pattern similar to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, two storms may attempt to merge and deliver snow to part of the northeastern United States as 2017 winds down.

One storm is projected to turn northward after bringing some ice to coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday, while another storm is projected to move eastward after bringing snow to parts of the Midwest on Friday.

Both storms will eventually link up over the Atlantic Ocean.

"As the storms merge, winds will kick up from Saturday night to Sunday," according to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams. "AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will plummet to painfully low levels."

During Saturday, actual temperatures will be no higher than the single digits over the northern Plains, the teens and lower 20s over much of the Appalachians and northern New England and the 20s to lower 30s F in the coastal mid-Atlantic. RealFeel Temperatures may plunge to 10 to 20 degrees lower than the actual temperature.

The question is: How quickly will the storms merge?

While there is some indication that the storms will not get together fast enough for more than a sporadic coating to an inch of snow, waters may be warm enough over the nearby Atlantic to cause the storm to spin up faster and closer to the coast.

At the very least, snow showers will sweep from the central Appalachians on Friday night to the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts on Saturday.

If the two storms begin to sync with each other, then a batch of moderate snow may extend northwestward across part of New England to southeastern New York state.

At this point, it appears that southeastern New England stands the best chance at being hit with a few inches of snow from later Saturday to Saturday night.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which largely missed out on snow on Christmas Day, might be one of the places that receives enough snow to shovel and plow.

Along the Interstate 95 corridor, there is a chance of a period of accumulating snow as far to the west as New York City on Saturday.

Another Arctic blast poised to usher in 2018

How to avoid freezing if you’re ringing in the new year in Times Square

Snow to create slippery travel in midwestern US into Friday night

Ice may glaze roads in southeastern US Thursday night

There are two major differences from the storm around Christmas to the potential storm this Saturday. One difference is that temperatures are projected to be 10-20 degrees lower on Saturday. The other difference is that the storm this weekend is likely to be much weaker.

Any snow that falls would accumulate, including coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic. Some of the snow may partially melt and freeze. Because of the very low temperatures, some ice melting compounds may be ineffective in the central Appalachians.

As winds kick up, any snow on the ground will blow around.

Even colder air is expected to pour in later this weekend through the first week of 2018.

AccuWeather will continue to provide updates on the bitterly cold air and winter storm potential in the coming days.

Report a Typo