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Not 1. Not 2. Not 3. Not 4. 5 winter storms could deliver more snow than the last two winters combined

A person clears snow in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Thursday. Caleb Jones/AP

A person clears snow in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Thursday. Caleb Jones/AP

CNN — The second of five storms that will slam the eastern half of the United States with snow and ice over a two week period is on the way — and this one has more snow than the first.

The first storm unleashed deadly severe weather, life-threatening flooding and dangerous ice and snow as it raced over the Midwest and Northeast Wednesday and Thursday.

The next storm already slammed into the West Coast late Thursday and is racing east through the northern Rockies Friday. It will move so quickly that it will take less than 72 hours for it to go coast-to-coast, delivering heavy snow to the Midwest Saturday and the Northeast Saturday night and Sunday.

More than 80 million people across the US are expected to be impacted by “a swath of disruptive & hazardous wintry weather” over the Super Bowl weekend, the National Weather Service said.

The storms are being driven by the jet stream, essentially a river of air in the atmosphere that storms flow through. It’s locked in an almost perfect line from west to east, and will continue to funnel fast-moving storms across the northern tier of the Lower 48.

New storms will arrive every few days until the jet stream shifts — something that might not happen until mid-February. So more snow could pile up over the next two weeks in some parts of the East, including Boston and New York City, than happened in the past two winters combined.

Snow from the next storm will begin early Saturday over the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Precipitation will expand as the storm is boosted by atmospheric energy to its south. A mix of rain and freezing rain will stretch from Missouri to the central Appalachians by Saturday morning while snow falls over the Great Lakes.

The storm will drop a widespread area of 3 to 6 inches of snow from central Minnesota through central Michigan. Lower snow totals are anticipated south of this streak of heavier snow: Chicago could end up with less than an inch of slush while Detroit sees an inch.

 

 

It could be dry between the two areas of wintry precipitation Saturday morning in an area from Chicago to Cleveland. An icy mix will fill in these dry areas by the afternoon.

A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow will spread over Pennsylvania by Saturday evening. The same messy mix will spread through New Jersey, New York City and Long Island shortly after. Snow totals will climb higher than Thursday’s storm for much of New England and Upstate New York.

At least 6 inches of snow is possible from central portions of New York to southern Maine and over much of southern New England. Snow totals could approach the double-digit mark from Syracuse, New York, to Boston.

Boston could be buried by a foot of snow Saturday night and Sunday, which would be more snow than fell all of last winter. The city hasn’t had double-digit snowfall in a single day in just over three years.

The storm will come to an end by mid-morning Sunday for much of the Northeast. Some snow could linger into the early afternoon in Maine and coastal New England.

Many more storms to come

There will only be a brief lull in winter weather in the East to start next week before yet another storm.

A weather forecast model shows how storms could develop and deliver precipitation over the US next week. The specifics of forecast models this far out in time can change dramatically, so this is just a general idea of how storms could behave and not a high-confidence, detailed forecast. CNN Weather

The exact timing and extent of next week’s winter weather is still coming into focus, but the wide-reaching storm could develop in the Plains as soon as Monday evening. It will strengthen and precipitation will envelop much of the eastern half of the US overnight Monday and Tuesday.

It’s still unclear exactly how far north snow, sleet and freezing rain could spread, but anywhere from the Mississippi and Tennessee valleys north into the Midwest and Northeast could be in the storm’s path.

Another very similar storm could develop in the Plains just after midweek. Next week’s first storm will influence how this one develops and moves, so we won’t know more specific forecast details until next week.

That’s not all. Another cross-country storm could develop next weekend and bring more snow and ice to the eastern half of the US.

Snow totals will climb quickly as storm after storm hits the Northeast — something that hasn’t happened in the region in recent years.

Boston should record about 3 feet of snow each winter but less than 2 feet fell in the past two winters combined. This upcoming stretch could bring 1 to 2 feet of snow to the city, depending on each storm’s ultimate track.

A similar scenario could unfold in New York City. Less than 10 inches of snow blanketed the city in the past two winters but that amount could pile up during this busy stretch.

CNN Meteorologist Brandon Miller and Taylor Ward contributed to this report.

Author: Mary Gilbert, CNN Meteorologist

Source: CNN:::

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