Multiple snowstorms to bear down on Northeast, Ohio Valley in early December
Cold air settling into the central and eastern US will set the stage for multiple storms this week, bringing snow farther to the south and east with travel disruptions from the Plains to New England.
AccuWeather Long-Range Expert Joe Lundberg looks ahead to the upcoming week’s forecast for the U.S. From the northern Plains to the Northeast, wintry cold and storms are expected to impact these regions.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains outdated information. Please refer to the latest story, "Winter storm to ring in December from Midwest to Northeast, bringing travel-disrupting heavy snow" for the latest information.
Following a large winter storm that will bring accumulating snow to much of the Midwest and part of the interior Northeast this weekend, cold air will expand and set the stage for snowstorms across the central Plains, Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and New England beginning early this week.
The storms are expected to impact ground and air travel and back-to-school operations after the Thanksgiving holiday. The snow will reach into many areas that have not yet experienced accumulating snow this season.
Snow to streak from Kansas to New York, Maine, Monday to Tuesday
A storm will race along the boundary between expanding cold air over the north-central and interior northeastern United States and warm air over the Southern states from Monday to Tuesday night.
The storm will have just enough strength to produce snow and a mix of snow, sleet and rain on its colder side from much of Kansas and southern Nebraska, east to much of Pennsylvania, New York, New England and northern New Jersey.
Because the storm will move quickly, it should prevent excessive snowfall, with most areas expected to receive 1-6 inches. A pocket of heavier snow is possible from the Catskills of New York and the Berkshires of Connecticut and Massachusetts to perhaps southeastern Maine, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 12 inches.
Snow accumulation in the Northeast will depend on the formation of a second coastal storm.
For St. Louis and Indianapolis, the storm early this week will bring the second significant snowfall in two to three days. Cities such as Kansas City, Missouri; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cincinnati, Ohio; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; and Portland, Maine, which avoided snowfall impacts from the weekend storm, may experience snow-related disruptions early this week.
The storm is expected to bring a mixture of snow and rain, followed by a change to plain rain in Philadelphia and New York City on Tuesday. Roads may be slippery for a time, especially in the northern and western suburbs of these metro areas, where snowfall could persist for several hours.
There is a chance that if the secondary storm just offshore were to strengthen quickly enough on Tuesday, it could create a northerly breeze of cold air down the Hudson Valley. This scenario could lead to more snow and slippery travel rather than rain and wet roads in New York City.
A mixture of snow and rain in Boston may bring slushy travel at times from Tuesday to Tuesday night. More snow and heavy accumulations with slippery travel are forecast north and west of the city.
All or mostly rain is in store for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Areas that receive drenching downpours will be prone to ponding on some city streets and highways from Monday to Tuesday in the Southeast and the mid-Atlantic.
Thunderstorms on the storm's warmer southern side over the Southern states could be locally heavy and gusty.
Snowstorm possible during first weekend of December
"Cold is forecast to dominate the weather pattern from the Plains to much of the East during the first 10 days of December," AccuWeather Senior Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.
The cold settling in during the next one to two weeks will bring the lowest temperatures since last February in many cases.
Slight fluctuations in that cold pattern will allow more storms to bring snow and a mix of snow, ice and rain.
"A storm next weekend (Dec. 5-7) has the potential to bring accumulating snow to portions of the Ohio Valley, Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England," Lundberg said. "That storm will probably bring rain to I-95 to the beaches, but it is questionable, and it would not take much for accumulating snow to fall there as well."
Following the storm that affected the Midwest this weekend and the early week storm from the Central states to the Northeast, another storm warrants monitoring a few days later.
"There are at least two more storms we are monitoring through the first half of December, in addition to early this week and next weekend," Lundberg said.
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