Philadelphia – The first of two more rounds of snow is beginning Tuesday across the winter-weary eastern US, including parts of the Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
While neither storm is expected to pack accumulations approaching last week’s historic winter storm, the second of the upcoming two systems will be accompanied by wind gusts that could cause travel delays alongside the unshakable arctic chill that has many cities across the East on track for their coldest winter in recent years.
Midweek snow to clip Ohio Valley, Mid-Atlantic; rain to help melt remaining ice across the South
Timing: Tuesday morning through Wednesday
A weak clipper system will dive out of Canada and tap into moisture streaming north from the Gulf, bringing a coating of snow from parts of Indiana east through southern Ohio and into West Virginia, beginning around the morning rush on Tuesday morning and lasting into Wednesday, after arriving a little earlier than initially forecast.
Snow could reach Washington, DC and southern New Jersey Tuesday night.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, snow totals are expected to stay between 1-2 inches, with slightly higher amounts possible only in the higher elevations of the Appalachians.
The National Weather Service has issued Winter Weather Advisories for a narrow corridor from southern Indiana through West Virginia through Tuesday night, highlighting slippery road conditions as the main threat.
This is already one of the snowiest winter seasons in recent years for places across the Ohio Valley, including Cincinnati, Ohio, which has received 24.4 inches of snow, more than 11 inches above average.
Meanwhile, rain is expected across the South, as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.
This rain could help melt lingering ice from last week’s devastating and deadly ice storm — power outages remain across pockets of Mississippi and Tennessee.
Late-week clipper could impact travel across Northeast, Great Lakes
Timing: Late Thursday through Saturday
A stronger clipper is expected to move across the Great Lakes and Northeast late Thursday, with parts of the Interstate 95 corridor likely seeing snow beginning sometime Friday afternoon into early Saturday.
1–3 inches of snow are expected across the Great Lakes and Northeast, with higher amounts favored in elevated terrain, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
“Forecast details will continue to be refined as the event draws closer,” the Forecast Center said Monday.
FOX Weather meteorologists also highlighted that wind gusts between 30–40 mph are expected to accompany this system.
Those gusts are strong enough to produce snow squalls and sudden visibility reductions for drivers on Friday afternoon and evening.
The system is expected to move off the northeastern coast by Sunday, but whether it briefly strengthens and develops into a coastal storm or quickly exits remains something of an open question.
