(NEW YORK) — More than 100 million people across the country are under winter alerts early Friday morning as a quick-hitting storm system moves across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the northeast. This comes as another brutal surge of Arctic air pushes into the south as we head into the weekend.
Snow is falling in many locations from Indiana to Delaware on Friday morning and, while the storm is not considered a blockbuster by any means, the morning commute may be slick in cities like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and possibly New York City with snow mostly on the lighter side along with a few scattered bursts of moderate to heavy snow.
In terms of snow amounts, we’re still on track for a fairly minor snowfall of around 2 to 5 inches but a few localized spots could top 6 inches by the time the storm is over.
New York City may be seeing some minor accumulation — under 2 inches — which may be just enough to mark the second day this week with more than an inch of snow following a snow drought of more than 700 days.
By sunset on Friday, the storm will be mostly offshore, leading to a quiet weekend with bitterly cold temperatures across much of the Northeast as low temperatures will be dropping below zero in many parts of New England.
Meanwhile, a reinforcing shot of Arctic air is expected to settle in on Friday and should stick around through the weekend across the Midwest and Great Lakes.
All that cold air should help generate the intense lake effect snow bands that have been blanketing numerous locations along the lakes this week.
Elsewhere, the highest snow report in the last 48 hours is from Copenhagen, New York, with 50 inches of heavy lake effect snow.
While this cold snap won’t be as brutal as the “polar plunge” earlier this week, however, more than a dozen states are still facing sub-zero temperatures and wind chills as we head through the weekend.
We’re right around the mid-point of winter and it will certainly feel like it in the deep south this weekend as freeze watches and warnings are in effect for cities like Jacksonville, New Orleans, and even as far south as Corpus Christi, Texas.
As the cold air heads into south Florida this weekend, temperatures may drop into the 30s and 40s.
Out west, avalanche warnings have now been canceled in Colorado after several days of dangerous conditions on the mountain slopes with conditions looking to slightly improve heading into the weekend in an active weather season already.
Meanwhile in the Pacific Northwest, snow will change over to sleet and freezing rain across parts of Washington and Oregon on Friday, which may lead to slick roads and dangerous travel.
Throughout this weekend, another storm makes its way onshore from the Pacific Ocean, bringing a heavy rain chance to central and northern California as an estimated 1 to 3 inches of rain is likely from San Francisco to the Oregon border.
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