Saturday, December 25, 2010

A major winter storm is setting its target on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to round out the holiday weekend, bringing more than a foot of snow along and east of Interstate 95 from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. As if that weren`t enough, gusty winds will create blizzard conditions for the highly-populated New York and Boston metro areas.
The ingredients for this major winter blast are coming together tonight along the Gulf Coast. An area of low pressure is building along Florida's east coast, drawing plenty of subtropical moisture into the storm. At the same time, a deep pool of cold, Arctic air is digging southward across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, and getting pulled into the storm. The low will start to march northeastward today as a coastal low, pulling plenty of Atlantic moisture onshore, right into the face of the Arctic air.
Already a bit of light snow has developed across central and eastern Maryland as well as eastern Virginia. Accumulations with this initial snow are light, although the snowfall should pick up in earnest by morning as the storm takes a position off of the North Carolina Outer Banks. At the same time, moderate snow will spread into the New York metro area and toward Boston as the morning wears on. The snow will then continue through the rest of Sunday and into Monday morning across the Mid-Atlantic and last through Monday evening in the Northeast.
Locations along and east of the Interstate 95 corridor will see more snow compared to those to the west of Interstate 95. This includes the Delmarva Peninsula, much of New Jersey, New York City and Long Island, and southern and eastern New England. The heaviest snowfall amounts will fall in Boston`s western suburbs, where 20 to 25 inches of the white stuff could be found. Further south 8 to 16 inches will be common near New York City while the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Delmarva Peninsula and Philadelphia metro area will see 6 to 10 inches of snow. Accumulations of 3 to 8 inches will be found from Washington to Richmond, Va.
With a rapidly strengthening storm, gusty winds will also be part of the equation. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph will be common across the New York and Boston metro area, Long Island, and along the Connecticut and Rhode Island coasts. Along with the falling snow, these gusty winds will create blizzard conditions, and near zero visibilities for the highly populated Interstate 95 corridor cities of the Northeast.
A Blizzard Warning has been issued for the New York metro area, southern Connecticut, all of Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts, including New York City, Providence, R.I., and Boston, with a Blizzard Watch for southeastern New Hampshire and coastal Maine.
Winter Storm Warnings stretch from eastern Georgia to western New England, including Raleigh, N.C., Richmond, Va., Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and Hartford, Conn., while Winter Storm Watches remain from eastern New York to interior Maine. Along the fringes of the storm, Winter Weather Advisories stretch from central Tennessee into west-central Maryland.
Snowfall totals of 4.7 inches have been reported in Simpsonville, S.C., with Hickory, N.C., reporting 8 inches of snow. Lake Toxaway, N.C., has 7.5 inches of snow, Lewisville, N.C., has measured 5.5 inches of the white stuff. Danville, Va., has 4.3 inches of snow so far, with Galax, Va., at 5 inches.
The storm is likely to create massive travel headaches for the busy post-Christmas travel period, with highways along the Interstate 95 corridor likely to be slick and snow-covered and some secondary roads completely impassible. Amtrak has already cancelled most trains running south of Washington, D.C., for Sunday, and numerous flights across the Mid-Atlantic have already been cancelled. Check with your carrier if you have travel plans for Sunday or Monday.
WeatherBug Meteorologists will continue to watch this impending winter storm and provide the latest updates. Be sure to check your WeatherBug for the latest information, and keep your WeatherBug active to receive the latest forecasts for your area. Get the latest updates anywhere on Twitter at WeatherBug WeatherBuzz.
What do you think of this story?
Click here for comments or suggestions.

0 comments:

Post a Comment