Powerhouse Winter Storm to Impact the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic

Here at SCTX Aware, we don't talk about storm systems in other parts of the country very often, as our focus is primarily on the greater Austin Metro area.  We are, however, paying close attention to the impending major winter storm for the Northeast U.S. tomorrow through Sunday for two primary reasions:  (1).  many Austinites work for the government and frequently travel to the Washington DC area, and (2).  air travel will likely be impacted nationwide by this system.

The impacts from snow from this system will be very high to extreme for a large portion of Virginia, northeast into the Baltimore/Washington DC area, as shown in lavender on the image below (courtesy of our partners at WeatherGuidance):

Within that region, snowfall totals of 1-2 feet, yes, feet, will be common, and widespread blowing and drifting will occur with strong, gusty East to Northeast winds:

The combination of the strong, gusty winds and heavy, wet snow will likely result in power outages in many areas, especially within and near the lavender shaded area on the above image, where wind impacts are likely to be the highest.  Peak wind gusts of 50 mph (and possibly higher in spots) are expected in this general region.

Snow will begin on Friday afternoon in the southwest part of the areas referenced above, and will spread to the East and Northeast into Saturday and early Sunday.

By 7pm EST on Saturday,  here is a snapshot of the likely snow totals on average across the region:

Again, we would emphasize that the above totals are through 7pm on Saturday.  Additional snow will fall on Saturday night into early Sunday, especially from New Jersey/eastern Pennsylvania into southern New England.

Most major airlines have already instituted travel waivers due to this storm, and others will likely follow in the coming few days.  

If you have travel plans into the DC area from Austin today, you will encounter no problems from the weather.  The snow will begin during the day tomorrow and you should expect to be "stuck" at your destination through early next week.  In case you missed it, there was about 0.5 inch to 1.0 inch of snow in DC yesterday, and from the outside looking in the scene could be best described as "pandemonium".  If it was that crazy yesterday from less than an inch of snow, can you imagine what will happen with 1-2 feet of snow this weekend?  The city will be shut down for all practical purposes, and it may take days for it to become fully functional again.

With many major airport hubs to be directly impacted by this storm tomorrow through Sunday, you should also expect widespread "ripple effects" on air travel nationwide through at least Monday, and possibly longer.  If you have any travel plans even in other parts of the country through early next week, it would be wise to check on your flight(s) ahead of time, especially if any connecting flights originated (or were supposed to have originated) from the eastern and northeastern U.S.

"Stay tuned" here to SCTX Aware and we'll keep you updated on any major changes with this system.