A nor’easter will blast the Northeast and New England with heavy snow, rain, high winds and coastal flooding as it develops and intensifies off the East Coast early this week, making travel dangerous and nearly impossible for millions of people along and north of the Interstate 95 corridor.
This powerful winter storm could potentially undergo “bombogenesis” as it rapidly strengthens off the Eastern Seaboard. If the storm’s central pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in a 24-hour period, it will become a “bomb cyclone,” which is indicative of a very powerful storm system.
Snow from the winter storm is currently falling in the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, while an area of rain is moving up the mid-Atlantic coast.
The peak impacts from the nor’easter are expected between Monday night and Tuesday night.
Winter weather alerts are in effect across the Northeast, stretching from northeastern Pennsylvania to Maine.
Winter Storm Warnings extend from northwestern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania through central and upstate New York, northern Connecticut, western and central Massachusetts, northern Rhode Island, southern parts of Vermont and New Hampshire and southern Maine.
Winter Storm Watches are also in effect for portions of northern New Hampshire and Maine, as well as portions of north-Connecticut, south-central and southeastern Massachusetts and central Rhode Island.
Southern Connecticut and the lower Hudson Valley, north of New York City, are included in a Winter Weather Advisory where lower snowfall totals are expected.
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Most of the snow during the day Monday will be falling around the Great Lakes region and the interior Northeast as the storm system begins to ramp up.
Places like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Syracuse in New York are first up to see the snow, while rain is expected along the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England.
As we head into Monday night, snow will become more widespread in the Northeast, with cities such as Albany, New York, starting to get in on the action.
Snow is also expected to begin falling in New England farther away from the coast. Southern Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will likely still be seeing rain in the evening, but the rain will rapidly change over to snow overnight as the storm continues on its northeastern track along the East Coast.
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Most of the action will kick off overnight Monday and into Tuesday, with widespread snow across portions of eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey, New York state and New England. Temperatures in New York City and Boston should be in the lower 40s, which will likely mean more rain than snow.
Heading into Tuesday night, temperatures will drop across the region, allowing for cities such as Boston and Portland, Maine, to change over to snow.
After continuing during the overnight hours Tuesday, the nor’easter will eventually begin to wind down on Wednesday as it pulls further away from the East Coast and eventually into the Canadian Maritimes.
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The FOX Forecast Center said more than a foot of snow is likely in the Catskills and southern Adirondacks in upstate New York, the Berkshires and Worcester Hills in western Massachusetts, the Monadnock and White Mountains in New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains in Vermont.
However, there could be locally higher amounts of 2 feet or more in some of those locations.
The Boston area can expect to see between 5 and 8 inches of snow, while closer to the coast in southern Rhode Island, Connecticut and the New York City tri-state area, between 1 and 3 inches is expected.
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Power outages are a major concern for the Northeast as heavy, wet snow combined with strong, potentially damaging winds could bring down trees and power lines.
As the nor’easter tracks up the East Coast, wind gusts will increase. By late Tuesday afternoon and into Tuesday evening, winds could be gusting between 50 and 60 mph along the southeastern coast of Massachusetts and on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
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Widespread power outages are possible for millions of people from the coast of Maine southward through New Hampshire, Vermont, central and western Massachusetts, Cape Cod, northwestern Connecticut and upstate New York.
Power outages are also likely from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island, as well as in central New York.
While not as high of a threat as the areas mentioned above, power outages are also possible across the rest of the Northeast and New England.
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As the nor’easter pushes farther north, winds will be increasing out of the east and northeast off the Atlantic. That will push water from Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean toward the Northeast coastline, allowing for splashover and flooding in coastal communities.
Coastal Flood Advisories are now from Long Island to southern Connecticut, including the New York City tri-state area and New Haven, Connecticut.