Bomb cyclone to focus most of its furious snow on Carolinas
As a storm rapidly strengthens into a bomb cyclone it will bring wind-driven snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the Carolinas this weekend. The storm's snow is forecast to slip to the east of New York City.
Near Spartanburg, South Carolina, Dr. Reed Timmer shows deteriorating travel on I-85 amid heavy snow, with 6–9 inches forecast and stronger winds developing toward the coast later today.
As the atmospheric pressure crashed along the Atlantic coast Saturday night into early Sunday morning, a bomb cyclone formed and brought strong winds and snow to a portion of the Southeast.
While the storm a week earlier somewhat spared the Carolinas and northern Georgia the worst wintry effects, the storm has already made up for it in terms of snow.
The storm brought treacherous travel across the Carolinas and Virginia. Snow covered the beaches and wind-driven snow caused blizzard conditions for many.
Snow began in middle Tennessee on Friday afternoon, then expanded and intensified through Saturday into early Sunday morning. Bitterly cold conditions, with temperatures in the teens and 20s Fahrenheit through Sunday afternoon and not forecast to climb above freezing again until Monday afternoon, will keep many roads snow-packed and icy and make cleanup difficult.
The snow that fell in metro Atlanta was light on Saturday with a coating to an inch or so in most areas. However, snow accumulations were much higher in northeastern Georgia and central and eastern North Carolina.
The worst of the storm in the Carolinas lasted from Saturday into Saturday night with snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour at times. Snow on Sunday morning continued across the Outer Banks.
In Charlotte, the 6-10 inches of snow that fell around the city makes it one of the most notable in recent history. The last benchmark storm was 3.5 inches on Jan. 17, 2018. Going further back, a storm in late February 2004 was one of the biggest on record, with 13.2 inches falling. In late January 2003, a storm brought 8.5 inches.
Travel may continue to be difficult across portions of interstates 26, 40, 64, 75, 77, 81, 85 and 95 from Tennessee to the Atlantic Coast in the Carolinas and southern Virginia through much of Sunday as crews clean up following the storm. Gusty winds are also forecast to continue through the day.
There is a positive with this storm, as opposed to the storm last weekend. The dry, powdery nature of much of the snow with this storm will not cling to trees and power lines. However, near the coasts of North and South Carolina and Virginia, winds will be strong enough to cause sporadic power outages.
The winds will also create frequent, large waves along unprotected coastal areas from North Carolina to the Delmarva with moderate coastal flooding. The flooding will be worse at times of high tide.
As crews focus their attention on major highways, some secondary roads and city streets may be blocked for days in the wake of the storm. Schools may be closed for an extended period.
While the scope will be much less than last week's storm that covered nearly half the nation, this storm will still be significant in terms of ground and air travel disruptions. As of mid-afternoon on Saturday, the number of flights canceled in the United States was already topping 2,200, including nearly 800 departing flights from Atlanta and Charlotte alone, according to FlightAware.com. Rippling flight delays and cancelations are expected at other primary and regional hubs throughout the nation as crews and aircrafts have been displaced.
What will the storm bring to the Northeast?
In short, the answer to that question is not much in terms of snow. As AccuWeather meteorologists have been pointing out all week, this storm will have a very sharp northern or northwestern edge with heavy snow versus flurries versus totally dry conditions. That entire distance may be a couple dozen miles or less.
AccuWeather was never forecasting a major storm in the zone from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia and New York City. The storm will still be a bomb cyclone just offshore, but its effects in this I-95 zone will be limited to gusty winds and tidal effects.
Dry, Arctic air and high pressure to the north will block the storm's path in the Northeast, forcing accumulating snow to fall south of Washington, D.C.
Some snow will graze Boston as the storm turns north through Sunday night, but the storm is likely to bring accumulating snow to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In Canada, Nova Scotia and the island of Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada will experience the storm's full blizzard conditions, where only brevity to 12-24 hours will limit the storm's effects spanning into early Monday.
Although the storm isn't forecast to bring widespread snow for the I-95 corridor in the Northeast, the storm was still strong enough to create gusty, harsh winds in the Arctic air.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will dip to 15-25 degrees lower than the actual temperature near the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, as well as wide open areas and in between the concrete canyons of New York City, Philadelphia and Boston through Sunday evening. RealFeel® Temperatures will dip into the single digits and below zero at times.
The raging storm offshore this weekend will kick up large swells that will reach the coastline as big breakers, causing beach erosion.
The wave action and astronomical effects of the full moon will lead to coastal flooding. Where the wind is more northerly instead of from the northeast, much of the New Jersey coast, the southern New England coast and New York City should be spared the worst impacts of coastal flooding.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
