Winter Storm Warning for 10 States As Heavy Snow To Hit

Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 10 states as a front is set to bring heavy, wet snow and strong winds across New England and into the Great Lakes into Monday, before another two storms bring mountain snow to the Pacific Northwest.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts for California, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia, warning of treacherous travel conditions and strong winds that could bring down tree branches and cause power outages in places.

Last weekend, a powerful winter storm from the Pacific brought in excess of 12 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada range in California, as well as several feet of snow and blizzard conditions to higher-elevation regions of neighboring states.

It came after another winter storm made landfall earlier the same week before moving into the Intermountain West, bringing intense snowfall from Utah to Wyoming and Colorado.

Western states have already faced several bouts of heavy snow so far this winter, having been subjected to a prolific series of atmospheric rivers that brought a rare blizzard warning for Seattle in early January.

In its latest forecast, the NWS said that a winter storm that brought heavy rain to the mid-Atlantic on Saturday night would continue on a northeasterly path through Sunday, with colder air wrapping around the expanding front, supporting snow over New England.

Meanwhile, chilly air from the northwest will facilitate lake-effect snow—a phenomenon in which cold air from Canada picks up moisture from large bodies of water to produce precipitation—downwind of the Great Lakes and into the Appalachians. The region has already seen several bouts of lake-effect snow this winter.

“The snow showers are expected to linger into Monday but they will gradually taper off as the huge storm will take some time to move farther away,” the weather agency said.

In eastern West Virginia and the Maryland panhandle, up to 8 inches of snow and winds gusting as high as 55 miles an hour are expected. Snow squalls producing heavy bursts in places are likely, with areas of blowing snow significantly reducing visibility.

Areas bordering Lake Erie in northeast Ohio will also see up to 8 inches of snow, as well as winds of 40 miles an hour. This will continue into northwestern Pennsylvania, where up to 7 inches of snow and winds of 45 miles an hour are forecast.

Regions of southwest New York bordering Lake Erie will see up to 9 inches of snow, while those bordering Lake Ontario are set to receive up to a foot of snow and winds of 45 miles an hour. Counties in the north of the state are predicted to see as much as 14 inches of snow.

In Vermont, up to 14 inches of snow and winds of 40 miles an hour are anticipated, as well as a mix of sleet and freezing rain. Up to 10 inches of snow and winds of 45 miles an hour are expected in New Hampshire and Maine.

With the arrival of the latest fronts in the Northwest, the Cascades of Washington are braced for up to 30 inches of snow and winds of 40 miles an hour, while north central California is set to receive up to a foot of snow and winds of 50 miles an hour.