Next winter storm to bring accumulating snow to NYC, Philly
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 21, 2021 5:56 PM EST
AccuWeather's Bernie Rayno breaks down the timing of the storm and the amount of snow it's expected to bring as it moves east.
AccuWeather forecasters are continuing to track a developing storm system that as of Saturday morning was just moving into California, but is expected to travel across the nation, with another storm in tow, and drop snow along the way in several big cities from the Midwest to the East Coast.
The second of the storms is shaping up to be the stronger one and it will deliver wintry conditions over the weekend throughout the Midwest and to parts of the Ohio Valley and Northeast early next week. Both storms are expected to be disruptive to travel both on the ground and in the air, even if the worst conditions from one or the other miss some of the major air travel hubs.
For part of the North Central states, a one-two punch is possible with snow or a wintry mix potentially overlapping from both storms in parts of Nebraska, Iowa and the northern parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Southern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan could also be walloped by back-to-back episodes of winter weather.
"The first storm is forecast to produce a large swath of at least 1-3 inches of snow from parts of the northern Plains to the Midwest during this weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
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"Within this light snow area will be a patch of moderate to locally heavy snow with accumulations of 3-6 inches and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches," Anderson added.
Snow could begin on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, and before it tapers off by late Saturday night, the city may be under a blanket of 3 to 6 inches of snow.
Chicago residents could wake up to snow falling on Sunday morning -- after it begins late Saturday night. When all is said and done, the Windy City may be coated by an inch or so of snow from the storm.
Around 3 inches of snow is forecast to fall on Green Bay, Wisconsin, Saturday night into the midday hours on Sunday. Snow is expected to taper off prior to the NFC Championship Game between the Buccaneers and the Packers on Sunday, but crews may be busy removing snow from the field, sidelines and stands ahead of the game.
Snowfall is forecast to diminish as the system approaches the eastern part of the Great Lakes region and the central Appalachians late Sunday and Sunday night. However, a bigger storm will already be starting to cause trouble over parts of the Plains by that time.
A storm for the first part of next week is on track to produce snow, ice and a wintry mix along an approximately 1,500-mile-long zone from parts of Kansas to eastern New York state and southern New England.
Travel woes could be felt across many areas of the country due to the extensive wintry precipitation predicted. Travel along I-25 in the Rockies and along the I-95 corridor in the East as well as along I-70 and I-80 in the Central and Eastern states is likely to become tricky -- and motorists may face downright dangerous conditions on the roads over long stretches of highway. Across areas farther south, mostly rain will fall. Even though visibility may drop in the heaviest rain and lead to hazardous travel at times, travel concerns are likely to be much less widespread.
AccuWeather forecasters say details are coming into focus on the area most likely to experience accumulating snow and ice.
At least a couple of inches or so is forecast to accumulate across a corridor from west-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska stretching all the way to northern New Jersey, southern New York state and southern New England.
A zone of moderate to heavy snowfall is expected to occur within the extensive swath of wintry precipitation. The heaviest snow, on the order of 6-12 inches with locally higher amounts, is likely to come down just north of the area of mixed precipitation containing sleet and freezing rain. The exact location and how widespread the heaviest snowfall will be is subject to change if the storm's track shifts around or its intensity changes, according to AccuWeather forecasters.
"We are forecasting accumulating snow in New York City and Philadelphia," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said, and that would arrive Monday night, he added.
At this time, a snowfall of 6 inches or greater is projected to happen from northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska through southern Iowa and into part of northern Illinois. A second pocket, where more than 6 inches of snow may fall, could occur in part of central Pennsylvania.
In addition to implications of the storm's track and intensity on total snowfall accumulations, a difference in temperature of only a couple of degrees at critical levels of the atmosphere can mean the difference between an all-out heavy snowstorm and a storm that may bring a moderate amount of snow, ice and even plain rain.
There is the risk of ice or mixed precipitation containing sleet and freezing rain with the storm -- and like the snow area, the icy mix is predicted to occur along a lengthy stretch of the United States.
Two rounds of ice will affect the Central states.
But, it is the second round that is forecast to extend into part mid-Atlantic region during early next week.
Both can make for dangerous driving and walking conditions although a thin glaze of freezing rain can be especially treacherous and threaten travel and power outages.
Just as there could be pockets of heavier snowfall, locally moderate to heavy amounts of ice may cause more serious impacts in parts of the Midwest and central Appalachians.
AccuWeather meteorologists are also monitoring the potential for a secondary storm to form along the mid-Atlantic coast at the last minute on Tuesday. If that storm develops, it is likely it would trap a wedge of cold air across the central Appalachians and along the mid-Atlantic coast. Temperatures could be suppressed below freezing in the corridor from Philadelphia and New York City, with the potential for the storm to bring all or mostly snow and/or ice. Even Washington, D.C., is likely to receive some snow and/or ice from the storm.
The Twin Cities were smacked by heavy snowfall earlier this season, but amounts have been falling short of normal since Dec. 1. Minneapolis already eclipsed last season's snowfall with 33.9 inches, compared to the 33.2 inches that fell during all of last winter.
Chicago and Indianapolis have received only about 50% of their normal snowfall for the season to date as of Jan. 21. Chicago has picked up 8.6 inches, and Indianapolis has picked up 5.4 inches so far. One or both of these cities could trend close to their average snowfall to date in the wake of the winter storms into early next week.
Farther east, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia have experienced close to their average seasonal snowfall amounts to date, with 10.5, 17.5 and 6.6 inches respectively. Pittsburgh has picked up nearly double its normal snowfall to date with 34.6 inches. However, not all of the East has received a boon of snowfall this season. Washington, D.C., is in the midst of a snowfall drought, much like the area had last winter. Less than 0.1 of an inch of snow has fallen in the nation's capital so far this year. Normally, the city picks up an average of 6.1 inches to date.
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 winter storm to bring accumulating snow to NYC, Philly
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Jan 21, 2021 5:56 PM EST
AccuWeather's Bernie Rayno breaks down the timing of the storm and the amount of snow it's expected to bring as it moves east.
AccuWeather forecasters are continuing to track a developing storm system that as of Saturday morning was just moving into California, but is expected to travel across the nation, with another storm in tow, and drop snow along the way in several big cities from the Midwest to the East Coast.
The second of the storms is shaping up to be the stronger one and it will deliver wintry conditions over the weekend throughout the Midwest and to parts of the Ohio Valley and Northeast early next week. Both storms are expected to be disruptive to travel both on the ground and in the air, even if the worst conditions from one or the other miss some of the major air travel hubs.
For part of the North Central states, a one-two punch is possible with snow or a wintry mix potentially overlapping from both storms in parts of Nebraska, Iowa and the northern parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Southern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan could also be walloped by back-to-back episodes of winter weather.
"The first storm is forecast to produce a large swath of at least 1-3 inches of snow from parts of the northern Plains to the Midwest during this weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"Within this light snow area will be a patch of moderate to locally heavy snow with accumulations of 3-6 inches and an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches," Anderson added.
Snow could begin on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, and before it tapers off by late Saturday night, the city may be under a blanket of 3 to 6 inches of snow.
Chicago residents could wake up to snow falling on Sunday morning -- after it begins late Saturday night. When all is said and done, the Windy City may be coated by an inch or so of snow from the storm.
Around 3 inches of snow is forecast to fall on Green Bay, Wisconsin, Saturday night into the midday hours on Sunday. Snow is expected to taper off prior to the NFC Championship Game between the Buccaneers and the Packers on Sunday, but crews may be busy removing snow from the field, sidelines and stands ahead of the game.
Snowfall is forecast to diminish as the system approaches the eastern part of the Great Lakes region and the central Appalachians late Sunday and Sunday night. However, a bigger storm will already be starting to cause trouble over parts of the Plains by that time.
A storm for the first part of next week is on track to produce snow, ice and a wintry mix along an approximately 1,500-mile-long zone from parts of Kansas to eastern New York state and southern New England.
Travel woes could be felt across many areas of the country due to the extensive wintry precipitation predicted. Travel along I-25 in the Rockies and along the I-95 corridor in the East as well as along I-70 and I-80 in the Central and Eastern states is likely to become tricky -- and motorists may face downright dangerous conditions on the roads over long stretches of highway. Across areas farther south, mostly rain will fall. Even though visibility may drop in the heaviest rain and lead to hazardous travel at times, travel concerns are likely to be much less widespread.
AccuWeather forecasters say details are coming into focus on the area most likely to experience accumulating snow and ice.
At least a couple of inches or so is forecast to accumulate across a corridor from west-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska stretching all the way to northern New Jersey, southern New York state and southern New England.
A zone of moderate to heavy snowfall is expected to occur within the extensive swath of wintry precipitation. The heaviest snow, on the order of 6-12 inches with locally higher amounts, is likely to come down just north of the area of mixed precipitation containing sleet and freezing rain. The exact location and how widespread the heaviest snowfall will be is subject to change if the storm's track shifts around or its intensity changes, according to AccuWeather forecasters.
"We are forecasting accumulating snow in New York City and Philadelphia," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said, and that would arrive Monday night, he added.
At this time, a snowfall of 6 inches or greater is projected to happen from northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska through southern Iowa and into part of northern Illinois. A second pocket, where more than 6 inches of snow may fall, could occur in part of central Pennsylvania.
In addition to implications of the storm's track and intensity on total snowfall accumulations, a difference in temperature of only a couple of degrees at critical levels of the atmosphere can mean the difference between an all-out heavy snowstorm and a storm that may bring a moderate amount of snow, ice and even plain rain.
There is the risk of ice or mixed precipitation containing sleet and freezing rain with the storm -- and like the snow area, the icy mix is predicted to occur along a lengthy stretch of the United States.
Two rounds of ice will affect the Central states.
But, it is the second round that is forecast to extend into part mid-Atlantic region during early next week.
Both can make for dangerous driving and walking conditions although a thin glaze of freezing rain can be especially treacherous and threaten travel and power outages.
Just as there could be pockets of heavier snowfall, locally moderate to heavy amounts of ice may cause more serious impacts in parts of the Midwest and central Appalachians.
AccuWeather meteorologists are also monitoring the potential for a secondary storm to form along the mid-Atlantic coast at the last minute on Tuesday. If that storm develops, it is likely it would trap a wedge of cold air across the central Appalachians and along the mid-Atlantic coast. Temperatures could be suppressed below freezing in the corridor from Philadelphia and New York City, with the potential for the storm to bring all or mostly snow and/or ice. Even Washington, D.C., is likely to receive some snow and/or ice from the storm.
Related:
The Twin Cities were smacked by heavy snowfall earlier this season, but amounts have been falling short of normal since Dec. 1. Minneapolis already eclipsed last season's snowfall with 33.9 inches, compared to the 33.2 inches that fell during all of last winter.
Chicago and Indianapolis have received only about 50% of their normal snowfall for the season to date as of Jan. 21. Chicago has picked up 8.6 inches, and Indianapolis has picked up 5.4 inches so far. One or both of these cities could trend close to their average snowfall to date in the wake of the winter storms into early next week.
Farther east, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia have experienced close to their average seasonal snowfall amounts to date, with 10.5, 17.5 and 6.6 inches respectively. Pittsburgh has picked up nearly double its normal snowfall to date with 34.6 inches. However, not all of the East has received a boon of snowfall this season. Washington, D.C., is in the midst of a snowfall drought, much like the area had last winter. Less than 0.1 of an inch of snow has fallen in the nation's capital so far this year. Normally, the city picks up an average of 6.1 inches to date.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo