Could the eastern US face more snow later this week?

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

January 24,2016; 9:17PM,EST

 

 

In the wake of the historic Blizzard of 2016, many in the East may be wondering how long until another snowstorm strikes. It is possible that another targets the Northeast later this week.
Communities still digging out from the blizzard in the mid-Atlantic and far southern New England will welcome a break from powerful snowstorms through at least midweek.

People enjoy sledding on Capitol Hill

It is not out of the question for cold air to catch up with a band of rain and allow nuisance snow to return to the I-95 corridor late Tuesday night into Wednesday, but the potential for more substantial snow may come later in the week.
"There is a storm system moving off the Southeast coast late in the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
The exact track of the storm after it leaves the Southeast coast will determine whether a swath of more disruptive snow spreads across the Northeast or remains offshore.

Nicholls said the snow potential could include the I-95 corridor Friday if the storm takes the more western track. However, a track too close to the coast may mean more rain for the I-95 cities with snow farther inland.
The storm would also likely intensify as it tracks near the coast, causing winds to strengthen as well. If the storm reaches its full potential, it is possible for blizzard conditions to be produced.
Regardless of its exact track, the storm later in the week does not look to be a carbon copy of the Blizzard of 2016.
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A track near the coast would lead to another round of travel headaches and nightmares for a part of the Northeast. However, the strengthening storm could cause New England to face the worst impacts (windswept snow and rain) rather than the mid-Atlantic.
Places north of Boston totally escaped the Blizzard of 2016.
Cold air should also not enter the picture fast enough for snow to fall into the South as was the case this past weekend. The track of the storm should prevent the Ohio and Tennessee valleys from experiencing a repeat of the disruptive snowfall.
The storm will likely not sit along the coast as long as the blizzard did, preventing a prolonged period of onshore winds and waves pounding the coastline. Since the phase of the moon will not be close to full or new, tides will not be astronomically higher.

However, strengthening winds could still lead to some coastal issues. Again, the danger will increase as the storm intensifies.
Residents across the Northeast are urged to check back with AccuWeather as more details of the storm unfold.
Beyond the end of January, Nicholls anticipates the storm track to shift farther to the west toward the Great Lakes in early February with "primary rain in the East."
"The latest thinking of the AccuWeather Long Range Team is for more snowstorms in the East later in February," Nicholls said.