Northeast facing wide range of impacts from weekend winter storm
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 23, 2020 4:40 PM EDT
A slow-moving storm has finally reached the Northeast, bringing drenching rain, gusty winds and even some snow and ice to a few locales into Sunday.
Even though the storm is rather warm, snow and pockets of ice managed to sweep across the northern tier. Heavy rain has also broken daily rainfall records and led to localized flooding.
The complex weather pattern, which involved multiple waves of energy, allowed snow to linger back across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley through Saturday afternoon, while keeping it warmer in much of the Northeast.
Rain swept through the mid-Atlantic early in the day on Saturday, bringing drenching rainfall over just a few hours.
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, NJ, the city of Wilmington, Delaware broke a daily rainfall record all before 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. A total of 2.46 inches of rain fell as of 10:45 a.m., breaking the record of 1.97" of rain from back in 1978.
Water in nearby creeks and river rose rapidly and overflowed their banks.
The east branch of the Brandywine Creek in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, reached moderate flood stage early in the afternoon on Saturday, cresting just over 9 feet. Several other creeks and rivers in the Philadelphia area were reporting minor flooding as well.
In addition to southeastern Pennsylvania, heavy ran also fell across parts of Maryland and northern Virginia early on Saturday. Stafford, Virginia recorded over 2 inches of rain from the storm.
Farther north, places in northern Pennsylvania and parts of southern New York State had precipitation that began as freezing drizzle early in the day. Spotty reports of black ice lead to numerous accidents in the region on Saturday morning.
Snow also fell at a quick enough pace to coat roadways across portions of central and northern Pennsylvania early Saturday morning, including along a stretch of Interstate 80.
There will be areas in the Northeast where shoveling and plowing operations are needed by the end of the storm.
Locations where enough snow is likely to fall and accumulate with the storm will extend through western and northern New York state to northern New England into Sunday.
From 6-10 inches (15-25 centimeters) of snow is forecast in parts of southeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. In this swath an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 14 inches (36 centimeters) are anticipated.
The higher terrain in western to northern New York state, as well as parts of northeastern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northwestern Maine can expect a 3- to 6- inch snowfall.
A total of 1 to 3 inches of snow is forecast from the northern West Virginia mountains to the mountains of western Pennsylvania, the southern tier of New York state and in a narrow zone across central New England.
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The combination of heavy rain and gusty winds can lead to travel delays in the I-95 corridor as a 50- to 100-mile wide band of heavy rain pivots into New England.
Enough rain can fall along the coast to cause urban flooding, and bring minor flooding of creeks.
Rain may be intense for a time, bringing thunder, lightning and gusty winds.
As the center of the storm from the Midwest moves in, colder air will filter in through Sunday.
Enough moisture will accompany the cold air to produce snow showers from the Appalachians on north and west through Sunday. However, it is unlikely for the snow showers to survive the trip to the coast.
The majority of the snow showers on Sunday will bring little in the way of accumulation. However, combined with some gusty winds, visibility may be reduced for a time and impede travelers.
Temperatures are forecast to climb into the 40s in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia and near 50 in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Rain will subside and dry air will sweep in across the swath from much of Virginia to southeastern New England.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Northeast facing wide range of impacts from weekend winter storm
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 23, 2020 4:40 PM EDT
A slow-moving storm has finally reached the Northeast, bringing drenching rain, gusty winds and even some snow and ice to a few locales into Sunday.
Even though the storm is rather warm, snow and pockets of ice managed to sweep across the northern tier. Heavy rain has also broken daily rainfall records and led to localized flooding.
The complex weather pattern, which involved multiple waves of energy, allowed snow to linger back across the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley through Saturday afternoon, while keeping it warmer in much of the Northeast.
Rain swept through the mid-Atlantic early in the day on Saturday, bringing drenching rainfall over just a few hours.
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, NJ, the city of Wilmington, Delaware broke a daily rainfall record all before 11 a.m. on Saturday morning. A total of 2.46 inches of rain fell as of 10:45 a.m., breaking the record of 1.97" of rain from back in 1978.
Water in nearby creeks and river rose rapidly and overflowed their banks.
The east branch of the Brandywine Creek in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, reached moderate flood stage early in the afternoon on Saturday, cresting just over 9 feet. Several other creeks and rivers in the Philadelphia area were reporting minor flooding as well.
In addition to southeastern Pennsylvania, heavy ran also fell across parts of Maryland and northern Virginia early on Saturday. Stafford, Virginia recorded over 2 inches of rain from the storm.
Farther north, places in northern Pennsylvania and parts of southern New York State had precipitation that began as freezing drizzle early in the day. Spotty reports of black ice lead to numerous accidents in the region on Saturday morning.
Snow also fell at a quick enough pace to coat roadways across portions of central and northern Pennsylvania early Saturday morning, including along a stretch of Interstate 80.
Related:
There will be areas in the Northeast where shoveling and plowing operations are needed by the end of the storm.
Locations where enough snow is likely to fall and accumulate with the storm will extend through western and northern New York state to northern New England into Sunday.
From 6-10 inches (15-25 centimeters) of snow is forecast in parts of southeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. In this swath an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 14 inches (36 centimeters) are anticipated.
The higher terrain in western to northern New York state, as well as parts of northeastern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northwestern Maine can expect a 3- to 6- inch snowfall.
A total of 1 to 3 inches of snow is forecast from the northern West Virginia mountains to the mountains of western Pennsylvania, the southern tier of New York state and in a narrow zone across central New England.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The combination of heavy rain and gusty winds can lead to travel delays in the I-95 corridor as a 50- to 100-mile wide band of heavy rain pivots into New England.
Enough rain can fall along the coast to cause urban flooding, and bring minor flooding of creeks.
Rain may be intense for a time, bringing thunder, lightning and gusty winds.
As the center of the storm from the Midwest moves in, colder air will filter in through Sunday.
Enough moisture will accompany the cold air to produce snow showers from the Appalachians on north and west through Sunday. However, it is unlikely for the snow showers to survive the trip to the coast.
The majority of the snow showers on Sunday will bring little in the way of accumulation. However, combined with some gusty winds, visibility may be reduced for a time and impede travelers.
Temperatures are forecast to climb into the 40s in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia and near 50 in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. Rain will subside and dry air will sweep in across the swath from much of Virginia to southeastern New England.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo