Waves of winter weather are expected to sweep across the Eastern United States this week, with a wide region of the country from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic caught between frigid arctic air and warmer, moist air that could leave trees and roadways under a glaze of ice.
While light snowfall and patches of sleet are expected in some places, “freezing rain and ice accumulation are expected to be the predominant hazards, potentially leading to dangerous travel conditions,” Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned.
The heaviest icing is forecast for western Maryland, northern West Virginia, and central and southern Pennsylvania, where ice accumulations exceeding a quarter of an inch may damage trees and lead to power outages.
Winter storm watches were in effect for those areas from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. The National Weather Service office in State College, Pa., predicted a long period of sleet transitioning to freezing rain into Thursday morning, with the greatest accumulations expected in the southwestern part of the state.
Lighter amounts are expected across the Midwest, Great Lakes and northern Mid-Atlantic, but “it doesn’t take a lot of ice to cause problems,” Mr. Oravec warned.
Freezing rain and sleet are likely to cause hazardous travel Thursday morning in and around Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., but the weather will likely transition to rain by that morning in portions of the Mid-Atlantic. Some snow or sleet is possible from New York to Boston, eventually turning into rain later in the day.
Though heavy snowfall is not anticipated, accumulations of up to a few inches are possible from North Dakota and central and northern Minnesota to upstate New York and northern New England.
Looking ahead to Friday and the weekend, another round of winter weather is set to affect some of these same areas — this time with “a better chance of heavy snow,” Mr. Oravec said. A new system developing in the south-central Plains is expected to bring snow to the Dakotas and Upper Midwest. As the system tracks northeast, moderate to heavy snowfall, ranging from four to six inches, is anticipated across the Great Lakes and Northeast by Saturday.
Chances for significant snow and sleet from that system are increasing in the northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, especially in higher elevations such as the Catskills, Adirondacks and Berkshires. Sleet and freezing rain are also expected across the Mid-Atlantic, New York and southern New England.
Farther south and southwest, rain will be more prevalent across the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians. Multiple rounds of rainfall, driven by ongoing storm activity, may elevate the risk of flooding in parts of West Virginia on Saturday.
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