Early-week winter storm to deliver snow, ice and rain across northeastern US, mid-Atlantic

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

February 29,2016; 9:10PM,EST

 

 

Shortly after March begins, a storm will spread snow over part of the interior northeastern United States, while mostly rain falls along the Atlantic Coast.
Tuesday will start wintry, wet and stormy in the Midwest, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
Enough rain and snow will occur to slow travel in parts of the Midwest and the Northeast.
The storm will spread rain over much of the Northeast during Tuesday and Tuesday night. However, as colder air filters in, rain will mix with and change to snow in the lower Great Lakes region and the central Appalachians.

"During the transition from rain to snow, there may be a period of sleet," Pydynowski said.
Several inches of snow may accumulate from northwestern Pennsylvania to western and northern New York state and part of northern New England. Roads will become slippery and snow covered in the swath from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Burlington, Vermont.
This includes portions of Interstate 79, I-80, I-81, I-86 and I-90. In this same area, the snow could weigh down tree limbs and cause sporadic power outages.

Heavy snow will also fall across portions of southern Canada including Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.
Depending upon the speed of the arrival of colder air farther east, there could be a couple of inches of snow in parts of northern West Virginia, western Maryland, southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania, central New York state and central New England. Roads could become slippery over the higher elevations and on bridges and overpasses in this zone.
In the area from Roanoke, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Portland, Maine, rain could slow the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning commutes. While much of the rain will be light, there will be localized downpours that could lead to poor visibility and force motorists to slow down.
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A few rumbles of thunder are possible on Wednesday in coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic. A severe weather outbreak is not expected.
Colder air will continue to settle in behind the storm during the balance of the week.
Depending on the track and strength of another storm, there is the chance of a period of accumulating snow or spotty flurries from Virginia and West Virginia to Massachusetts from Thursday night into Friday.
Yet another system could bring a bit of snow or flurries from Saturday night into Sunday.