Northeast may face another winter storm this week following warmup
Despite an upcoming warmup early in the new week, a gathering storm may tap into cold air and deliver accumulating snow to part of the Northeast.
For many parts of the northeastern United States, the weekend kicked off with plenty of snow blanketing the region on Feb. 16-17.
After a wintry weekend with cold air and some snow, temperatures will trend upward into the middle of this week across the Northeast, but will a new storm halt the warmup in its tracks? AccuWeather meteorologists say that this is a possibility and will be monitoring the progress of a winter storm that could bring snow or a wintry mix.
On Sunday, temperatures ran a few degrees shy of the historical average, with highs from the mid-10s and lower 20s across the northern tier to the mid- to upper 40s around the Chesapeake Bay region.
Motorists and pedestrians should be looking for icy patches on Monday morning, when melting snow could freeze overnight. Most areas will dip to or below the freezing mark, and temperatures will dip to near zero in some locations across the northern tier.
Brief warmup this week
Through the middle part of this week, an area of high pressure over the Southeast states will help direct warmer air across the South Central states and progressively milder air across the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic, with temperatures reaching several degrees above the historical average. The holdout zone for maintaining chilly conditions likely will be much of New England.
High temperatures around New York City will trend generally upward through the 40s from Monday to Wednesday. In Washington, D.C., highs will ratchet upward into the 50s. Meanwhile, highs in Boston will tend to remain in the 30s through midweek. Typical highs for the third week of February range from the mid-20s in northern Maine to the low 50s in southeastern Virginia.
Monitoring for a winter storm late this week
This week's warming trend will make it difficult, but not impossible, for any potential storm to bring snow or a wintry mix in at least part of the region.
From late Thursday to Saturday, how much, if any, snow falls on parts of the central Appalachians, upper mid-Atlantic and southeastern New England will depend on the track and strength of a storm rolling out from the central and southern Plains, as well as the speed of a new push of colder air over the northern tier, AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
"Should the two features sync up just the right way, there could be a zone of heavy snow developing," Rayno said.
If the storm is stronger, there is a higher chance for heavy, wet snow to blanket parts of the Northeast and New England. There would also likely be rain on the southern and eastern flanks of the system.
A weaker storm could result in more rain than snow, with the highest chances for significant snowfall across the interior Northeast, especially in the mountainous areas of the Appalachians.
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