February frenzy of winter storms to end with major mid-Atlantic snowstorm this week
One last storm in the relentless February storm train will spread a major plowable snowstorm and significant ice along part of the Atlantic Seaboard from Wednesday to Thursday.
AccuWeather’s Jon Porter breaks down the major winter storm that’s expected to dump heavy snow from the Midwest to the eastern U.S. during the middle of this week.
The two-week blitz of wintry weather across the central and eastern United States will finally come to an end this week, say AccuWeather meteorologists, but not until millions in the East are cleaning up snow from a major winter storm.
That storm will spread disruptive wintry weather first across the nation's midsection into Wednesday may end up being the biggest snowstorm of the season for not only a portion of the Central states but also parts of the mid-Atlantic, with locally over a foot of snow possible.
"The brewing snowstorm will have two key pieces associated with it, "AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. "Those being a fresh injection of Arctic air and the fact that it will be the caboose in the long train of February storms as the last storm in a series is often the strongest."
Major cities in the East on alert for heavy snow at midweek
Just days after the last dose of snow and ice, as well as flooding rain and thunderstorms, the East, especially the mid-Atlantic, will be next up for potential major impacts from Wednesday into Thursday, warn AccuWeather meteorologists.
With colder air in place and the storm taking a track farther to the south, snow will reach much farther south than the last two storms, even into the Carolinas, which was experiencing 60-degree Fahrenheit weather and thunderstorms to close out the weekend.
"Richmond, Virginia, to Norfolk, Virginia, and perhaps Raleigh, North Carolina, may experience their largest snow of the winter thus far with a swath of 6-12 inches of snow, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 25 inches, expected across the mid-Atlantic," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Grady Gilman.
At this time, it appears the heaviest snow will fall south of Washington, D.C., such as in southeastern Virginia. The biggest storm of the season thus far in this region came through on Jan. 5-6, dropping around 6 inches in Richmond. There is a decent chance the storm this week could eclipse that threshold.
"The timing of the snow in parts of the Interstate 95 corridor on Wednesday afternoon may be particularly challenging," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis. "Snow arriving in the afternoon in places such as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore could lead to rapidly deteriorating travel conditions going into the afternoon and evening commute."
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While AccuWeather's forecast snow map takes into account the potential for the storm to shift some, a southward wedge of dry air may greatly limit the snowfall just north and west of the zone from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. At this time a general 1 to locally 4 inches of snow is forecast along the I-95 swath from Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston. Amounts may vary from location to location with the greatest amounts likely south and east of the major cities.
"Snowfall accumulations in the Northeast, especially in New England, will be heavily dependent on the track of the storm," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kerry Schwindenhammer. "A sharper turn up the coast on Thursday could lead to noticeably higher amounts for places as far north as Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and even Portland, Maine."
Correspondingly, should the storm be more compact and track farther to the south, little to no snow may fall from Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston. In that scenario, much heavier snow may focus from the southern part of the Delmarva Peninsula to southern Virginia and the northern part of North Carolina.
Icy swath to focus on Carolinas
There will not just be snow but also the potential for a problematic amount of ice near and to the south of the storm track.
"In addition to the snow, freezing rain is expected to be another hazard from this storm," said Travis. "Portions of southern Virginia and North Carolina, including Raleigh and Charlotte, are expected to experience icing late Wednesday through Wednesday night."
An ice buildup of at least 0.25 of an inch in this area can lead to long-lasting power outages and nearly impossible travel conditions for a time, both by road and air.
Integrated Deicing Services deices a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff at Salt Lake City International Airport Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
As residents head back out once again to clean up the snow and chip away at the ice from yet another storm, they may be relieved to know this stormy pattern appears that it will break later this week.
"Following this storm, it appears most in the East will finally get a break from the unrelenting parade of winter storms," added Travis. "However, cold air is expected to linger behind this storm across the Ohio Valley and Northeast at least through next weekend."
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