A severe winter storm is expected to hit the Southern Plains as far as the Ohio Valley on Thursday before moving into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions late into the evening and Friday, creating dangerous travel conditions and raising the risk of widespread power outages, meteorologists said. said.
On Thursday afternoon, more than 100 million people from Texas to New England came under a winter storm warning or winter weather warning. About seven million people in the Tennessee and Ohio valleys have been placed on flood watch due to expected heavy rains from the same weather system.
James Connolly, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in New York, said Thursday the system will bring mixed weather to the New York area.
“Snow will disturb first, then it will turn into a winter mix, and then into rain,” he said, adding that coastal areas may have the least amount of snow. About three inches of snow is expected in the New York area, while parts of Connecticut and the Lower Hudson Valley could get up to six inches, he said.
Farther north, the forecast was more severe. Upstate New York and most of New England are forecast to experience heavy snowfall at the rate of one inch per hour on Friday. This is reported by the National Weather Service.. That Albany, New York, region up to one foot of snow could be seen, while the same amount was expected around Boston as well as Burlington, Florida.
A storm was expected before moving to the northeast bring heavy ice to the Southern Plains, parts of the Mississippi Valley and parts of the Mid-Atlantic through Thursday night, paving the way for possible massive power outages, tree damage and dangerous driving conditions. More than a quarter of an inch of ice glazing was likely across the Ozarks and southeast Missouri, according to forecasters. Locally, about half an inch of ice damage was possible, while freezing rain was forecast from the eastern Ohio Valley across the mid-Atlantic. Significant ice accumulation was possible in areas of Maryland and Pennsylvania, where National Weather Service An ice warning was issued in Pittsburgh at noon Thursday.
Freezing rain was also expected from the eastern Ohio Valley across the Mid-Atlantic states.
Weather conditions on Thursday were relatively calm in other parts of the country, with a cold wind warning in the northern plains and thick fog in the southeast.
The East Coast has seen active weather this winter.
In early January, successive storms created dangerous driving conditions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including one weather system that stranded hundreds of drivers on Interstate 95 in Virginia. more than 24 hours. The storm captured truckers, students, families and all commuters, including Senator Tim Kaine.
In the middle of January another storm hit the south, killing at least two people and leaving thousands without power before moving north and unleashing heavy snowfall across parts of the northeast and Canada. Another January storm swept across the East Coast, causing the cancellation of thousands of flights and forcing the governors of New York and New Jersey to declare a state of emergency. This storm dropped more than 30 inches snow in parts of Massachusetts.
While some hope a storm on Thursday and Friday could end the winter season, Mr Connolly warned people not to put away their shovels.
“March tends to be pretty rough,” he said. “You can’t say it’s the last one.”
Alyssa Loukpat contributed reporting.