Storm could produce feet of snow along stretch from California to Maine
A potentially high-impact winter storm is headed for the East Coast, but first the region must cope with the deep freeze plunging temperatures to the coldest they have been all season.
On Friday morning, Wind Chill Advisories were up for 7 million people for wind chills across interior Northeast with forecasts to dip as low as 20 below 0 by Saturday morning.
There are 20 million people were also under Wind Advisories for brisk winds of 20-30 mph, and gusts up to 50 mph, which will be responsible for producing the bitter wind chills.
Folks in the Northeast Friday morning woke up to wind chills that were in the single digits to below zero in some spots. This bitter cold air is 10-20 degrees below average and will last through Sunday.
And this cold will set the stage for the potential for accumulating snow Sunday through Tuesday.
Through the weekend and early next week, the storm that pounded California will become a significant and high impact winter storm for the Midwest to the Northeast with cities like Chicago, Washington, New York and Boston in the path.
On Saturday, heavy snow will develop across portions of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, while rain and storms stretch across the Plains and Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys.
For Sunday, snow will continue across parts of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley and spread into the Mid-Atlantic while more rain and storms will be possible across the Southeast.
Monday could be the blockbuster day for the urban megalopolis, as snow likely spreads over the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston.
By Tuesday, (Ground Hog Day) heavy snow and wind could persist across portions of the Northeast and New England.
Exact snow totals are unclear as the ultimate track of the storm is still uncertain.
The part of this storm that has meteorologists most concerned is the potential long-duration nature to the event. For cities along the East Coast, the potential is there for this snowstorm to last 24 hours or more.
This storm will be coming at the tale end of what has been a largely snowless January for cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York all of whom didn't even manage 1 inch of snow for the month.
