Winter Weather Alerts Issued for 5 States With Snow, Freezing Rain to Hit

Winter weather alerts are in place for five U.S. states as meteorologists predict a “wintry mix” of snow and ice over northern New England and another storm to batter the West Coast from the Pacific Ocean.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued advisories for parts of Alaska, California, Maine, Nevada and Tennessee, warning of hazardous travel conditions, high winds, as well as snow and freezing rain that could reduce visibility.

In its latest forecast, the agency said that a system moving southward from Canada would begin with rain for many locations on Friday morning, before transitioning into snow by Friday night and into Saturday—but that snow accumulations would likely remain “limited.”

“However, one exception will be in interior Maine where freezing rain accretions of 0.1-0.2″ and snowfall of 1-2″ may be a bit more disruptive to any travel this holiday weekend,” it cautioned.

Up to four inches of snow could accumulate in northern parts of the state. Up to a tenth of an inch of ice could also accumulate due to freezing rain, with slippery conditions impacting morning and evening commutes.

In Aroostook County, Maine’s northernmost region, “periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties” and limited visibility, the NWS warned.

It comes after states on the East Coast were battered by a deadly storm earlier in the month, leading to felled trees and downed power lines, with hundreds of thousands of power outages recorded in New England.

Several winter weather advisories were issued for Alaska, from 8 p.m. local time Friday (midnight ET) evening through 6 p.m. on Saturday (10 p.m. ET), warning of an inch or more of snow in areas including the south slopes of the central Brooks range, the Dalton Highway summits, the White Mountains and high terrain south of the Yukon River.

The NWS also foresaw a lighter winter weather pattern lingering over Tennessee and into Ohio on Friday, while an Alberta Clipper system—a cold front that tends to move southeast across the continental U.S. from the Canadian province—could bring a few light snow showers to the Great Lakes and upper Midwest on Saturday.

Portions of central Tennessee are expected to see an inch of snow gather into the weekend, with up to two inches at higher elevations.

The NWS predicts that a Pacific storm will approach the West Coast on Friday morning, with “moderate to locally heavy rainfall” of up to three inches likely for much of California that “may lead to some isolated flooding concerns,” though snowfall will be limited to mountain peaks.

It anticipates precipitation to reduce as the system weakens on Saturday, but said heavier snowfall of up to a foot is possible over the Sierra Nevada area, with local accumulations potentially reaching two feet.

Advisories are in place for counties in California comprising the Sierra Nevada mountain range at elevations over 6,000 feet, with up to two feet of snow and wind gusts of 45 miles an hour expected in some places.

In Nevada, the region bordering Lake Tahoe is set to see six inches of snow accumulate—with up to a foot above 7,500 feet—with wind gusts as high as 70 miles an hour causing waves of up to three feet. As much as 15 inches of snow is expected in higher elevations of nearby Mono County, California.

Western states have faced several bouts of snowfall so far this winter, having been subjected to a “prolific series” of atmospheric river storms from the Pacific. Last winter, the West Coast experienced the effects of a similar weather front, with California seeing several rounds of flooding.

Higher-elevation regions in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming have recently seen more than a foot of snow in some parts as winter weather took hold early in the season.