More than 100 million people across the midwest and north-east US are under winter weather alerts as a major winter storm works its way eastward and threatens to pummel the New York area on Monday.
After days of freezing temperatures but brilliant sunshine and little turbulent weather the north-east was braced for a whopper of a tempest that could dump well over a foot of snow in many areas, create blizzard-like conditions and cause travel problems for the next few days.
Three to 5in of snow arrived in central Ohio by early Sunday, making for some slippery roads.
A few more inches was in the forecast for Sunday, but by the afternoon, the snow was expected to reach Pennsylvania.
Snow was falling lightly in Washington DC, on Sunday morning and will become heavier, also reaching the Philadelphia area.
A major nor’easter with heavy snow falling at an inch to 3in an hour was forecast for Monday in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the National Weather Service said.
A major nor’easter will be impacting the Eastern US through Tuesday. Here are the latest snowfall, wind gust, and coastal flooding forecasts. Near blizzard conditions are possible along the coast Monday-Monday night where the strongest winds are expected. pic.twitter.com/mFSLe9DG0x
— NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) January 31, 2021
The snow was expected to start falling in Massachusetts on Monday morning, bringing up to a foot of snow to impact the evening commute. The storm will reach northern New England later that night, meteorologists said.
Winds strong enough to bring down tree branches with gusts ranging from 35 to 50mph were forecast for the storm.
The National Weather Service has issued storm watches across a huge swath of the US as snow was expected from Minnesota to Maine
Sleet will mix in at times and temperatures may nudge just above the freezing mark in New York City as the storm gets underway, before slowly departing on Tuesday, leaving blustery and chilly conditions with lingering snow showers and flurries.
Heavy snow was coming down on Sunday across the Great Lakes and midwest.
Overnight in Chicago, there were reports of an inch of snow per hour and just quarter-mile visibility.
By Sunday evening, snow will spread across the midwest to the mid-Atlantic reaching Washington and Philadelphia.
Elsewhere, a series of systems will move across the Pacific Northwest and Northern California over the next few days bringing heavy rain.
🌧️ Periods of moderate to heavy precipitation will continue to feed into the Coastal Range of southwestern OR and northwestern CA through the next few days. Given the saturated soils, rising snow levels and residual burn scars, localized flooding is possible. pic.twitter.com/tvxz3Ng9GD
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 31, 2021
There is a risk for flash flooding across south-west Oregon and northern California with as much as 5in of rain.
Snowfall along the Cascade mountain range through Monday evening has prompted avalanche warnings.
