Fresh off the recent pounding from Winter Storms Cleon and Dion, another round of nasty winter weather is set to spread through the eastern third of the nation. The Weather Channel has now named this system Winter Storm Electra.
Through Thursday, before Electra begins, localized areas of lake-effect snow could pile up more than 2 feet in western and central New York. After that, Winter Storm Electra will begin to develop in the Midwest Thursday night into Friday and head for the Northeast this weekend with more snowand some ice.
Here's breakdown of what's expected as we head into the weekend.
Late Thursday Night into Friday: Wintry Mix Begins
Friday's Forecast
As the day progresses, precipitation will be on the increase as the new storm system begins to gather moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
A mixed bag of precipitation — including freezingrain, sleet and snow — will begin to spread from eastern Kansas into northern Arkansas, Missouri and western Illinois. Places like Kansas City, St. Louis, and Fayetteville, Ark. can expect to get some of the wintry precipitation, though at times these areas could change over to a cold rain.
Through the overnight hours Friday night, the wintry mix will continue to push northeast, spreading over the rest of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, southern Michigan, and at least northern Kentucky. From aboutI-70 northward, this will likely be all snow.
Saturday - Sunday: Winter Storm Electra Spreads from Ohio Valley to Northeast
Saturday's Forecast
Sunday's Forecast
Saturday morning, snow will be ongoing between the southern Great Lakes and the Ohio River, from central and northern Illinois to central Ohio. A narrow band of snow, sleet and freezing rain will be located from near the Ohio River into the central Appalachians. This will make travel treacherous on portions of I-70, I-64, I-80, I-57, I-65, I-75 and I-77.
Snow is likely to spread into portions of the Northeast throughout the day and into the evening hours on Saturday, including New York City,Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It's possible these locations could change to a wintry mix or rain depending on the track of the storm system.
Farther south in Washington, D.C., mixed precipitation is more likely. The good news is that D.C. and points south will be above freezing and impacts should be much less significant.
Saturday night into early Sunday will yield some pretty large snow totals from central Pennsylvania into Upstate New York and New England. This includes Scranton, Pa., Albany, N.Y. and Concord, N.H. In addition, low pressure will be developing south of New England and tracking northeast during this time. While the low should stay offshore, it will cause winds to increase somewhat across New England as snow continues to fall. At this time, winds are not expected to get anywhere near blizzard criteria (35 mph sustained or in frequent gusts).
Moving through the day on Sunday, heavier snow will continue to move across New England, dropping accumulating snowfall on eastern New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Current thinking is that Boston will see several inches of snow beginning Saturday prior to any possible changeover to ice or rain.
By Sunday evening the bulk of the precipitation should be over, moving into Canada and offshore. A few scattered snow showers can't be ruled out mainly in northern Maine.
How Much Snow?
Winter Storm Setup
There remains some uncertainty in the track of Winter Storm Electra and the amount of moisture it will wring out. This will determine how much snow we can expect from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast this weekend. But it's safe to say that significant accumulations are possible, particularly from northern Pennsylvania into Upstate New York and New England where accumulations of more than six inches of snow are not out of the question.
The exact track of the storm will also determine whether cities from coastal Southern New England to New York City and Philadelphia eventually see the snow change to sleet, freezing rain or rain. Either way, at least some accumulating snow is likely.
In the Midwest, early projections are for snow on the order of 3 to 8 inches of snow for many areas near and north of the I-70 corridor from Illinois to Ohio, though parts of northern Illinois north of I-80 may miss out on these amounts.
We will provide more information and details on Winter Storm Electra as the weekend approaches.
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