A severe winter storm is expected to create hazardous travel conditions and increase the risk of power outages across much of the Northeast on Friday, meteorologists said.
The storm could bring anywhere from six inches to over a foot of snow from downtown New York to central New England before fading overnight, the National Weather Service said Friday morning. Freezing rain could see quarter-inch-thick ice hit roads from Pennsylvania through southern New England, according to forecasters.
Western Pennsylvania could face “particularly hazardous travel” and “probable local power outages,” the weather service said. From eastern Pennsylvania to Connecticut, “traveling over rough surfaces will be dangerous.” forecasters warned.
The storm began moving into the region early Friday morning after it hit the Southern Plains all the way to the Ohio Valley on Thursday. In the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, where about seven million people were under flood watch Thursday, heavy rain is expected to ease early Friday morning, forecasters said.
Much of the United States will be shaking with below-average temperatures this weekend, according to forecasters. Exceptions will be in the southern mid-Atlantic and southeast, where temperatures are expected to be well above average.
James Connolly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York, said Thursday the system will bring mixed weather to the New York region.
“Snow will disturb first, then it will turn into a winter mix, and then into rain,” he said, adding that coastal areas may experience 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.
By Thursday evening, snow had already made its way to parts of Illinois, including Chicago and Iowa. weather service said the road conditions were rapidly deteriorating.
More than a quarter of an inch of ice glazing was likely across the Ozarks and southeast Missouri, according to forecasters.
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 stuck 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 may be hoping a hurricane will end the winter season this week, 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 and Jesus Jimenez provided reporting.