Northeast Winter Storm: Freezing Rain, Snow, and Ice Pummel Virginia to New York

The massive winter storm system responsible for bringing freezing rain, heavy snow, blizzard conditions, and icy conditions for several days in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest will start to weaken by late afternoon on Friday, December 16, according to US weather authorities. However, it will spread to the Northeast US where a similar storm pummeled areas from Virginia to New York.

The winter storm affected millions of Americans and caused widespread disruption to travel earlier this week, including delayed or cancelled flights. Earlier this week, flight disruptions have been reported at the Boston Logan International Airport and JFK International Airport, where passengers had to wait for several hours for their departure or grounded flights to proceed.

The latest weather developments came as a multi-day storm affected the northern, southern, and southeastern parts of the US, including Florida, on Thursday, December 15. The storm's multiple weather hazards like heavy snow and freezing temperatures even led to dozens of road traffic accidents due to poor visibility and slippery road conditions across Minneapolis, which Nature World News also covered.

Winter Storm System

The National Weather Service (NWS) on Friday stated the winter storm system over the northern Plains and Upper Midwest will weaken in the coming hours but residual light snow and scattered snow showers remaining throughout the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes by Friday evening. Yet, heavy snow will impact parts of the Interior Northeast by the start of the weekend, where a lake effect snow is expected.

The persistence of the wintry impacts could still cause significant travel hazards and bring similar winter weather conditions other regions, including the Central Appalachians. Still, winter storm warnings remain in effect from northeast Pennsylvania to Maine. Rainfall is expected to be the main type of precipitation for Interstate 95 (I-95) cities closer to the coast, the NWS says.

The said winter conditions that brought a snow storm to the Northeast and other areas on Thursday, including the northern Plains and a tornado outbreak in the South, is only part of a "major cross-country system" that placed countrywide travel into a halt in recent days, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

Low Pressure System

The NWS also announced a separate low pressure system in the East Coast moving up to the northern Mid-Atlantic coastline as of Friday morning. The system is forecasted to strengthen and slowly traverse a northeastward pattern throughout the weekend. During this period, heavy snow is likely in the Interior Northeast and New England as Atlantic moisture gets absorbed into the cold air mass above the region.

The powerful winter storm system moving towards the east was also responsible for spawning dozens of tornadoes that left three people dead in the South. A total of 33 twisters were reported on Wednesday, December 14, in the states of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, according to Reuters.

Based on recent winter weather events in the US, additional winter storms are possible to occur in the coming days and weeks.