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Weekend Winter Storm Threatens Snow, Rain and Ice Along East Coast

January 5th, 2:30 PM EST

By NEWSnet Digital Team

Snowplows work to clear roads in New York in March 2023

MGN via New York State Thruway Authority

(NEWSnet/AP) – Millions of people across the eastern U.S. are in the path of a winter storm that threatens snow, freezing rain and ice for Saturday and Sunday.

The system that the National Weather Service is calling the “Jan. 6-7 East Coast Winter Storm” is expected to reach North Carolina by Saturday morning and then track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend.

[Earlier Report: East Coast Expected to See Major Winter Storm This Weekend]

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The heaviest snowfall is expected in regions including the Poconos in Pennsylvania, the mid-Hudson Valley and portions of New England. Chris Stachelski of the National Weather Service said localized accumulations of snowfall could exceed one foot in areas of higher elevation.

Elsewhere, the concern is ice — with up to a quarter of an inch forecast for parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.

A snowfall drought has been setting records across the eastern U.S. — and this storm may end it in some cities. For the number of consecutive days with less than an inch of snow, Philadelphia reached 705 days through Friday — beating the prior record of 661 days that ended on Dec. 15, 1973.

New York City went 691 days through Friday, outstripping the prior record of 383 days that ended on March 21, 1998. Baltimore reached 707 days through Friday, a record, with a prior record of 672 days that ended on Dec. 25, 2012.

Temperatures have been warmer than normal, making it hard for precipitation to fall as snow. Some storms that recently tracked through the Northeast were carrying warm air from the South and moisture that fell as rain, Stachelski said.

And Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont says it’s been about two years since a major storm has hit his state.

“I think this storm’s been a long time coming,” Lamont said. “It’s been over two years since we’ve had a storm of this magnitude, 6 to 12 inches. We’ve got a lot of salt piled up here; it’s been piling up for a while (and) some shiny new snow plows.”

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