Next round of snow to blanket areas farther south
By
Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 27, 2021 2:16 PM EST
On the heels of an early week system that unleashed wintry conditions along a 1,500-mile-long swath of the country, a new storm is forecast to form and drop snow much farther south than its predecessor. The upcoming storm will be a quick hitter, according to forecasters, but can unleash just enough rain and snow to lead to disruptions to travel and daily routines.
"The storm is the same system that continued to unload heavy snow on the interior Southwest into Tuesday, where up to 60 inches of snow is expected to fall on the mountains in Arizona and New Mexico," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"But, while this storm is also expected to weaken significantly while pushing across the Mississippi Valley and Southeast states at midweek, we still expect some problems to occur due to several inches of accumulating snow in some areas and slippery roads in others," Sosnowski explained.
A fresh injection of cold air will allow precipitation on the northwestern side of the storm to fall as snow, even as rain will fall on the storm's southern and eastern flank. This will allow some areas of the South and parts of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys that dodged snow from the early week storm to get a taste of wintry weather.
Snow, snow showers and even some rain are forecast to spread from parts of Missouri and Arkansas to southern Illinois, southern Indiana and the western parts of Kentucky and Tennessee Wednesday.
As the storms slides eastward and encounters the hills and mountains of the southern Appalachians and lower temperatures, snow will fall and start to accumulate.
Wet roads in parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Ohio, southeastern Indiana, northern North Carolina, central and southern Virginia and much of West Virginia are expected to become slippery late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.
The snowfall from the midweek storm should generally be light, with a fresh coating to 3 inches predicted from southeastern Missouri and northern Arkansas through Kentucky and parts of northern Tennessee.
The higher terrain of the Appalachians can expect a general 3-6 inches of snow with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches over the ridges and peaks.
"How quickly the storm re-strengthens while just off the Atlantic coast may determine if accumulating snow extends right to the coast of Virginia and northeastern North Carolina early Thursday," Sosnowski said.
The greatest risk for slippery conditions on roads east of the Appalachians in Virginia and northern North Carolina will be later Wednesday night to early Thursday. Snowfall in much of this zone will generally range from a coating to an inch with the greatest amount of snow on elevated surfaces.
Travelers along stretches of interstates 55, 65, 69 and 75 should be prepared to travel at lower speeds than usual in case of slippery spots. Bridges and overpasses, as well as areas normally shaded areas during clear days, would be the first places to become slippery where untreated.
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The anticipated track of the storm should spare the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia areas from accumulating snow. AccuWeather meteorologists will monitor whether any northward shift in the storm track could bring more of an accumulating snowfall to these cities.
"It is possible a few flurries fight their way to the ground Wednesday night in the Washington, D.C., area amidst the wedge of dry air created in the wake of the storm from Tuesday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller said.
Farther to the north, a secondary feature is forecast to produce snow showers in much of New England during Wednesday and Wednesday night. Snowfall in this part of the Northeast is likely to range from a coating to an inch with locally higher amounts. A couple of flurries cannot be completely ruled out in New York City from this disturbance.
Drier but cold conditions will then settle in behind the storm for the remainder of the week. However, the break from precipitation may not last too long.
"A powerful storm forecast to blast California with torrential rain and yards of mountain snow this week has the potential to produce a swath of accumulating snow from the Midwest to the Northeast starting this weekend and perhaps lingering into early next week on the East Coast," Sosnowski said.
"The same storm is likely to bring downpours and could raise the risk of severe weather in parts of the South once again this weekend to early next week," Sosnowski added.
A line of heavy, gusty thunderstorms that stretched from the Tennessee Valley to the central Gulf coast spawned a deadly tornado in an Alabama town Monday night.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Next round of snow to blanket areas farther south
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 27, 2021 2:16 PM EST
On the heels of an early week system that unleashed wintry conditions along a 1,500-mile-long swath of the country, a new storm is forecast to form and drop snow much farther south than its predecessor. The upcoming storm will be a quick hitter, according to forecasters, but can unleash just enough rain and snow to lead to disruptions to travel and daily routines.
"The storm is the same system that continued to unload heavy snow on the interior Southwest into Tuesday, where up to 60 inches of snow is expected to fall on the mountains in Arizona and New Mexico," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"But, while this storm is also expected to weaken significantly while pushing across the Mississippi Valley and Southeast states at midweek, we still expect some problems to occur due to several inches of accumulating snow in some areas and slippery roads in others," Sosnowski explained.
A fresh injection of cold air will allow precipitation on the northwestern side of the storm to fall as snow, even as rain will fall on the storm's southern and eastern flank. This will allow some areas of the South and parts of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys that dodged snow from the early week storm to get a taste of wintry weather.
Snow, snow showers and even some rain are forecast to spread from parts of Missouri and Arkansas to southern Illinois, southern Indiana and the western parts of Kentucky and Tennessee Wednesday.
As the storms slides eastward and encounters the hills and mountains of the southern Appalachians and lower temperatures, snow will fall and start to accumulate.
Wet roads in parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Ohio, southeastern Indiana, northern North Carolina, central and southern Virginia and much of West Virginia are expected to become slippery late Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.
The snowfall from the midweek storm should generally be light, with a fresh coating to 3 inches predicted from southeastern Missouri and northern Arkansas through Kentucky and parts of northern Tennessee.
The higher terrain of the Appalachians can expect a general 3-6 inches of snow with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches over the ridges and peaks.
"How quickly the storm re-strengthens while just off the Atlantic coast may determine if accumulating snow extends right to the coast of Virginia and northeastern North Carolina early Thursday," Sosnowski said.
The greatest risk for slippery conditions on roads east of the Appalachians in Virginia and northern North Carolina will be later Wednesday night to early Thursday. Snowfall in much of this zone will generally range from a coating to an inch with the greatest amount of snow on elevated surfaces.
Travelers along stretches of interstates 55, 65, 69 and 75 should be prepared to travel at lower speeds than usual in case of slippery spots. Bridges and overpasses, as well as areas normally shaded areas during clear days, would be the first places to become slippery where untreated.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The anticipated track of the storm should spare the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia areas from accumulating snow. AccuWeather meteorologists will monitor whether any northward shift in the storm track could bring more of an accumulating snowfall to these cities.
"It is possible a few flurries fight their way to the ground Wednesday night in the Washington, D.C., area amidst the wedge of dry air created in the wake of the storm from Tuesday," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller said.
Farther to the north, a secondary feature is forecast to produce snow showers in much of New England during Wednesday and Wednesday night. Snowfall in this part of the Northeast is likely to range from a coating to an inch with locally higher amounts. A couple of flurries cannot be completely ruled out in New York City from this disturbance.
Drier but cold conditions will then settle in behind the storm for the remainder of the week. However, the break from precipitation may not last too long.
"A powerful storm forecast to blast California with torrential rain and yards of mountain snow this week has the potential to produce a swath of accumulating snow from the Midwest to the Northeast starting this weekend and perhaps lingering into early next week on the East Coast," Sosnowski said.
Related:
"The same storm is likely to bring downpours and could raise the risk of severe weather in parts of the South once again this weekend to early next week," Sosnowski added.
A line of heavy, gusty thunderstorms that stretched from the Tennessee Valley to the central Gulf coast spawned a deadly tornado in an Alabama town Monday night.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo