Updated Dec. 16, 2019 11:50 AM
A swath of disruptive snow and ice will stretch from the mid-Mississippi Valley through the Northeast during the first part of this week. The wintry weather will come courtesy of a double-barreled storm shifting eastward out of the central part of the nation.
Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings were posted for areas stretching from the central Plains to the New England coast as of Monday morning.
The first storm, that brought snow and ice and disrupted travel, sporting events and holiday shopping over the central Plains on Sunday, raced through the Ohio Valley and into parts of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic Sunday night.
By Monday morning, a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain was occurring over Maryland, Delaware and northern Virginia with snow in parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Monday morning commute from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia featured some slick spots.
Following spotty flurries Monday morning, some light snow and sleet will arrive from central New Jersey into the Tri-State area around New York City during Monday afternoon. It is unlikely to cause much disruption, as the combination of light precipitation and temperatures around or just above freezing will prevent much accumulation on roads.
This first round of snow and ice will dissipate Monday night in lieu of a new system taking shape behind it to the west.
The second system will be stronger and develop on Monday in the lower Mississippi Valley. This second storm will bring more substantial snow and ice and raise the risk of severe thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley. The second round of snow and ice will develop on the storm's northern edge and impact many of the same areas as the first round.
After getting a few inches of snow from the first round Sunday and Sunday night, St. Louis will have another few inches Monday into Monday night. From both systems combined, some locales in northern and central portions of Missouri into central Illinois can have around a foot of snow.
This system will then continue to strengthen as it moves toward the mid-Atlantic and Northeast Monday night and Tuesday.
Accumulating snow will blossom into northern portions of the Ohio Valley late Monday into Monday night. Travelers along Interstate 70 from Illinois to Ohio will have several inches of snow and reduced visibility to contend with Monday into Monday night.
The threat for wintry precipitation will come to an end later Monday in over much of the Mid-Atlantic as milder air arrives and changes the precipitation to plain rain.
"The stronger storm will be more effective at drawing milder air northward later Monday into Tuesday," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Eric Leister. "Places that see some wintry precipitation early Monday, like Baltimore and Philadelphia, will change to plain rain later Monday into Tuesday."
Portions of the Northeast that will largely miss out on any snow from the first disturbance, will get blanketed with several inches of snow from the second, stronger storm. This will primarily focus on northern Pennsylvania and much of upstate New York into New England.
"There is likely to be a narrow swath of 6- to 12-inch snowfall totals in the Northeast as well, but confidence remains low on exactly where that stripe will occur," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.
"It does seem increasingly likely it will be from around the New York/Pennsylvania border northeastward through the Berkshires and Green and White Mountains."
Sandwiched in between the snow and rain will be a corridor where a significant buildup of ice can occur. Portions of central and eastern Pennsylvania and the central Appalachians into southern New England can have up to a quarter of an inch of icy glaze on elevated surfaces like hand railings, windshields, trees, and power lines. Any untreated surfaces would also become very slippery.
"Around a quarter of an inch of ice on trees and power lines is enough to begin causing some damage and can lead to some localized power outages," Miller said.
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The widespread snow and ice across much of the interior Northeast will lead to very tricky travel on Tuesday. From State College, Pennsylvania, and Syracuse, New York, to Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Maine.
By Tuesday night, the storm system will exit off the New England coast, and usher in another reinforcing cold shot for the Great Lakes and Northeast. The lake-effect snow machine will ramp up again, adding even more to some of the snow totals downwind of the Great Lakes.
Download the free AccuWeather app to check the forecast in your area. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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