Another series of winter storms is set to sweep across a wide swath of the United States, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain to millions of Americans, forecasters say.
Nearly 200 million people across parts of 40 states could see snow during this week, according to Fox Weather.
The latest round of storms comes on the heels of successive systems that brought snow and ice to many of the same areas that will see more of the same wintry weather.
1st storm arrives Tuesday — with heavy snow
National Weather Service/NOAA
The first storm, which developed over the Plains on Monday, will move on to the Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Tuesday.
Heavy snow is likely to fall in numerous states, including Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, all of which are forecast to receive up to 6 inches. That includes Washington, D.C., where federal employees have been told to leave work early before the snow arrives.
Snowfall rates of an inch an hour are possible in cities along the I-70 and I-95 corridors, according to the National Weather Service.
Ice accumulations of up to a quarter inch are possible in the Appalachians, especially within the Blue Ridge Mountains from far northwest North Carolina into southwest Virginia.
“Isolated power outages are possible, and travel may become extremely hazardous,” the weather service said.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency, and Virginia’s Department of Transportation urged residents to “stay home and off the roads as treacherous road conditions are expected to develop.”
2nd storm to follow — bringing more ice to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast
National Weather Service/NOAA
A second system is expected to follow along a more northerly track, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain from Colorado to Maine on Wednesday and Thursday.
While 4 to 8 inches of snow are possible across the Plains and Midwest, accumulating ice will be the main concern as this storm heads east.
“There is a chance that the corridor of sleet and freezing rain is more expansive with the second storm compared to previous rounds over the past week, especially across the mid-Atlantic region and New England,” AccuWeather warned. “Cities such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Binghamton, New York; and Springfield, Massachusetts, may be among some spots to be within the core of the ice later this week as the storm moves through.”
Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are possible over parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast beginning Wednesday. “The hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, a few tornadoes, and a minimal threat of hail,” the weather service said.
3rd storm could bring severe weather from coast-to-coast
National Weather Service/NOAA
A third storm is expected to bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevadas and Rockies as well as heavy rain to California on Thursday and Friday, including areas in Southern California still recovering from the recent wildfires.
“This storm has the potential to bring life-threatening debris flows in and below recent burn scars,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned.
The system will then move to the Plains and Midwest, bringing a swath of snow from Kansas to Michigan on Friday and Saturday before bringing the potential for more snow and ice to the Northeast this weekend.
Another arctic blast in the Upper Midwest
Forecast lows for Tuesday evening. (National Weather Service/NOAA)
In addition to the winter storms, another arctic blast is forecast for the Upper Midwest, where temperatures are expected to plunge 25 to 40 degrees below average by Tuesday evening, the weather service said.
And frigid temperatures are expected to be in place for the foreseeable future.
“If you’re hoping for a substantial warmup soon, you’ll be waiting for a bit longer,” the National Weather Service in Bismarck, N.D., office wrote on X. “Arctic air will keep temperatures very cold through this week, and below normal temperatures are favored to continue through the third week of February.”
