Friday, January 23, 2015

Winter Storm to Snarl Travel From DC to Boston Into This Weekend

By , Expert Senior Meteorologist
January 23,2015; 11:21PM,EST
 
 
While the mid-Atlantic will be spared a major snowstorm, snow will accumulate in part of the region and a nor'easter will deliver heavy snow to a portion of New England during the first part of this weekend.
Plenty of moisture, a lack of arctic air and a fast-moving, but strengthening storm will all weigh in to bring a wintry mess along the Atlantic Seaboard Friday night into Saturday night.
Enough rain, snow or a mix thereof will lead to travel delays from the Interstate 81 corridor to I-95.

According to AccuWeather.com Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "Airline passengers on the East Coast can expect delays due to direct effects of the storm ranging from poor visibility and low clouds to drenching rain and heavy snow."
Ripple-effect delays are possible in other parts of the nation with some crews and aircraft being displaced.
A mix of rain and snow or a change to plain rain for a time will limit the snowfall accumulation from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Providence, Rhode Island. Only a small amount of snow will fall around Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. However, farther to the north, several inches of snow can accumulate prior to or following a change to rain.
Slushy travel may be followed by poor drainage area flooding on Saturday along the I-95 upper mid-Atlantic swath. A change back to snow and slush may occur at the tail end of the storm.
North and west of the I-95 swath from Washington, D.C., to New York City, more substantial snow will fall with likely enough to shovel and plow. A few inches of snow may fall from Martinsburg, West Virginia, to Harrisburg and Scranton, Pennsylvania and Middletown, New York, even if some sleet and rain mix in.

A very short distance from southeast to northwest in the I-95 corridor may define just wet roads to snow and slippery travel.
"A distance of 30 miles could make the difference between 6 inches of snow and an inch of rain from Philadelphia to New York City, adding to the forecast challenge," Abrams said.
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There is still the potential for a major snowstorm from north of New York City to coastal northern New England.
"The Boston area will get heavy wet snow with the risk of downed tree limbs and power outages," Abrams said.

"In the city of Boston, the storm will become slushy and wet, but north and west it will get increasingly snowy."
As the storm rapidly strengthens along the New England coast later Saturday and Saturday night, winds will increase over the Northeast. Gusts past 50 mph are possible on Cape Cod.
Areas from the mountains of western Virginia and North Carolina, parts of northern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, western Maryland will get enough snow or wintry mix to cause slippery travel into early Saturday.
Skiers can expect the storm to cooperate for the most part this weekend. While the biggest snow will not reach most resorts, drenching rain will not reach ski areas from the Poconos to northern New England.
Over much of the southern Atlantic Seaboard and the Piedmont areas of the Carolinas, enough rain can fall to cause urban flooding problems. Where heavy rain alone occurs or follows heavy snow, along part of the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts, there can be street and poor drainage area flooding.
Another storm with snow will affect the Midwest later this weekend and then the coastal Northeast during the first part of next week. Indications are the storm on Monday will have colder air to work with and could bring snow all the way to the mid-Atlantic beaches.
AccuWeather.com will continue to provide updates on this and other storms through the weekend.
 
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