Winter Weather Watch 2014-2015: Two More Snowmakers Ahead

Tom Niziol
Published: February 18,2015



 
Welcome to the Winter Weather Watch, your daily briefing on winter weather threats across the nation, by winter weather expert Tom Niziol. Bookmark this page and check back for regular updates through spring 2015.
Below is the latest forecast discussion from Tom Niziol, as well as links to jump to the latest forecast and current maps and our list of the 2014-2015 winter storm names. You can either scroll down the page, or click on these links to jump to your section of interest.
- Snowfall forecast: Map showing forecast snowfall totals over the next 48 hours.
- Latest winter radar: See where any snow, freezing rain or sleet is falling now.
- Where's the cold: Is cold air building in Canada or Alaska?
- Winter storm names: The entire list of names this season and the science behind how we name them.

Snow Wednesday into Thursday Morning From Appalachians Through Northeast

A fast moving and relatively weak system will cut across the Central Appalachians this evening and move off the Mid-Atlantic Coast overnight. Higher elevations of the West Virginia through Maryland portion of the Appalachians will see as much as 5 to 8 inches of snow. As the system moves across Washington, D.C. through Baltimore to Philadelphia a quick inch or two of fresh snow is expected.
Ahead of this system overnight a band of heavy snow is expected to develop over southeastern Maine and could produce several inches of snow by morning. As the main part of the low deepens and moves north along the New England Coast a larger area of moderate to heavy snowfall is expected to overspread all of Maine as well as northern New Hampshire and Vermont. A large area of 5 to 8 inches of snow will fall and there is the possibility that parts of southern Maine, including Portland, could see a foot or more snowfall from this system.

Weekend Long-Track Winter Storm From the Midwest Through the Ohio Valley and Northeast

With that arctic air mass locked in across the entire eastern U.S. this weekend, yet another Low is forecast to track from the Southern Plains to the Mid-Atlantic then Northeast Friday into Sunday.  The latest model solutions are showing a change in the jet stream pattern that will bring milder air back into the Tennessee Valley and a rebound in arctic temperatures from the Ohio Valley north into parts of New England. We are relatively certain that we will see a long track of wintry weather from freezing rain to sleet to snow. However many areas who recently saw wintry precipitation from Tennessee through Kentucky and even the Mid-Atlantic will see temperatures warm enough for rain from this event. In fact, some of the model solutions bring a wintry mix as far north as Boston on Sunday.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the exact track of the system and exactly who will get hit with the highest impact wintry weather.  It is much too early to try to accurately predict exact snowfall or ice accumulations.

Forecast: How Much Snow?

Now: Snow, Sleet, Freezing Rain

Where's the Cold?

2014-2015's Winter Storm Names

In an effort to increase awareness and enhance communication of disruptive, impactful winter storms, The Weather Channel named winter storms starting in the 2012-2013 season. We are using a new list of names, shown above, for the 2014-2015 season.
(MORE: Origin of the Names | Science Behind Naming Winter Storms)
In 2012-2013, there were 27 named winter storms spanning over five months beginning with the post-Sandy Winter Storm Athena in early November and ending with Winter Storm Achilles in early May.
(RECAP: Winter 2012-2013 Named Storms)
In 2013-2014, there were 26 named winter storms beginning in early October with historic High Plains Winter Storm Atlas and ending with a mid-May Rockies snowstorm, Winter Storm Zephyr.
(RECAP: Winter 2013-2014 Named Storms)
Not every winter weather system will receive a name. The Weather Channel has specific criteria in place to determine when we name a particular winter storm. Our two main criteria for naming a winter storm are:

• It is forecast to produce conditions that meet the National Weather Service winter-weather warning threshold(s) over a main population center or multiple states, beginning generally within 48 hours.
• It is forecast to produce winter weather conditions that would be historic, especially unusual, or memorable, beginning generally within 48 hours.

For more coverage of winter weather, check out our Winter Storm Central page.

MORE: Winter Storm Astro (November 2014)