More than 135 million people in 35 states will be under cold weather advisories over the next few days as the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast brace for another round of rain and snow, driven by a low pressure system developing off the coast of the Carolinas.
This comes in the wake of another system that brought scattered rain and snow to parts of the East Coast on Saturday.
The heaviest snowfall will fall north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor, where winter advisories remain in effect for cities including Charleston, West Virginia; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Hartford, Connecticut. Snow is expected to begin falling in the Washington, DC-Baltimore area in the morning, Philadelphia and New York by lunchtime, and Boston in the afternoon.
Snowfall totals in this area are forecast to range from 5 to 8 inches through Sunday, with higher amounts likely in some areas. Snow has already begun to fall in parts of southern Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg and Annville.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered state agencies to prepare to respond to the storm, which could bring 4 to 6 inches of snow to New York City, 2 to 3 inches to Long Island and even 10 inches to the central Hudson region.
“New Yorkers are no strangers to winter weather, but I encourage everyone to make sure you and your family are prepared for the snow and extreme cold, use caution if traveling, and continue to monitor the local forecast,” Hochul said in a release.
The snow is expected to end Sunday night or early Monday morning as the system moves northeast, affecting states along the I-95 corridor. Snowfall totals of 2 to 6 inches are possible.
Varying levels of cold weather alerts will be in effect across much of the country over the next few days as an “extremely cold Arctic air mass” drops temperatures 10 to 40 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service. .
“Temperatures have already plummeted in the Rocky Mountains, Plains and Mississippi Valley, and will reach the East Coast on Sunday as the cold front moves toward the coast,” the weather service said in an update Sunday. in the morning. “This will be the coldest air of the winter season so far and, in many cases, the coldest in several years.”
Cold weather advisories extend from northern states along the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. The most extreme cold will take hold over the northern plains and Rocky Mountains, where wind chill values will fall to between -30 and -55 degrees.
Conditions will gradually approach average temperatures by the end of the week, with highs remaining 5 to 15 degrees below average in the south into next weekend.
Some record lows will also be possible during the week, including in Kansas City, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Pensacola, Florida; Detroit; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia.
