Snowy and icy conditions for millions likely to unfold across eastern US
Multiple storms are brewing from portions of the central United States to the Atlantic coast into next week and while none of the storms will be heavy in terms of accumulation, travel problems will abound.
The next week will be packed with wintry weather, thanks to multiple storms. Let’s break down the forecast.
An extended stretch of wintry weather—including multiple possibilities for snow—is brewing from parts of the Midwest to the Appalachians and Atlantic Seaboard through next Monday, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. While none of the storms will be a blockbuster, one may carry snowy and icy conditions right to the East Coast.
The upcoming storms will be fragmented and broken apart with lulls in between. Despite the weakness of storm intensity, a large area of light to moderate precipitation, including snow and icy conditions for millions, is likely to unfold.
The setup is highly complex with patchy areas of moisture and will occur as bitterly cold air builds southward across the Great Plains and is drawn eastward. Because of the two-pronged nature of the weaker storms and fluctuations in moisture for both, a simple start and end time is difficult to pin down at this stage.
Snow to fall from a Midwest, Appalachian clipper storm prior to Friday
First, there will be a clipper-style storm that will spread accumulating snow from the Midwest to the central Appalachians, spanning Wednesday evening to Thursday night.
That storm will bring a general 1-3 inches of snow with locally higher amounts near the Great Lakes and the high ground from West Virginia to southwestern Pennsylvania. Intermittent snow that can coat the ground will spill east of the Appalachians to parts of Interstate 95 in the mid-Atlantic and New England from Thursday afternoon to Thursday night.
The late-week period, after the clipper storm, may seem mild-mannered at first glance, but there is much more trouble brewing.
First of 2 Eastern storms to bring rain and snow
The first round of precipitation from the upcoming main storm duo will break out from the northwest Gulf coast to the Great Lakes Friday and will be associated with an initial press of Arctic air.
Rain will fall from it as far to the north as the Ohio Valley and then along the mid-Atlantic coast to southeastern New England on Saturday. However, due to cold ground temperatures, there may be spotty ice in parts of the Appalachians and Piedmont areas from Friday night to Saturday.
A wintry mix is possible along Interstate 70 in the Midwest, with intermittent snow farther north near the Great Lakes from Friday night to Saturday and then the central Appalachians to northern New England from Saturday to Saturday night.
Rain will soak much of the Southeast from Friday night to Saturday evening. A couple of the thunderstorms that develop can be locally heavy as well.
As colder air seeps in on the back side of that first storm, a freeze-up can occur in portions of the Ohio and Tennessee Valley to the central Appalachians and perhaps even coastal areas of the Northeast Saturday night.
More widespread wintry travel possible from Sunday to Monday storm
Enough cold air will be in place for snow or a wintry mix from the coastal Northeast to the interior Southeast as the next storm arrives Sunday.
If the storm gains a bit of strength, it could throw moisture farther west into the frigid air, resulting in a higher chance of snow over the Tennessee Valley, Ohio Valley, and the Appalachians. If the storm is weaker, the snow may not be as extensive and more spotty in nature.
In the Piedmont areas of the Southeast to coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic, enough moisture may be present to bring accumulating snow and ice or at least enough to create slippery roads and travel delays from Sunday to Sunday night. The wintry travel would be from Sunday night to Monday in New England.
"At this time, most likely snow will have departed Washington, D.C., in time for the Presidential inauguration on Monday, but there may be slippery conditions for those traveling to the nation's capital from Sunday to early Monday morning," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty cautioned.
Airline delays will build over the weekend and will linger into early next week. At the very least, deicing operations will be in full swing at many airports.
Frigid week ahead
Arctic air will continue to press in from Sunday through the middle of next week.
The cold will be intense enough to limit or prevent natural melting of snow, so areas of ice and packed snow may linger for days from the Midwest to the coastal Northeast, as well as the higher terrain over the interior Southeast.
For example, highs are forecast to be in the 20s F in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday. In Chicago, on Monday and Tuesday, highs are projected to be in the single digits to the lower 10s. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures can be 10-20 degrees lower than the actual temperature when the wind is blowing.
The inauguration on Monday in Washington, D.C., could be one of the coldest on record or at least the coldest since President Ronald Reagan in 1985.
There may be yet another storm in the works for next week
After the storm duo moves out on Monday, moisture will linger near the Gulf of Mexico. That moisture may coalesce into a new storm that could track northeastward into the Arctic air.
The track and intensity of that storm will determine if heavy snow or significant ice occurs in parts of the Southern states in the early and middle part of next week and if some accumulating snow can reach into the mid-Atlantic and New England in the middle to the latter part of next week.
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