The FOX Prediction Center is tracking the chances of the next winter storm. The storm could bring swaths of snow to the eastern half of the United States, including the Tennessee River Valley and the Carolinas, by midweek, and could also bring heavy snow to the Mid-Atlantic coast and the Northeast.
The FOX Prediction Center is tracking the possibility of the next winter storm that could bring swaths of snow to the eastern half of the United States, including the Tennessee River Valley, the Carolinas, and even the mid-Atlantic coast and Northeast. Sometime midweek.
A powerful clipper system clears the way for the next East Coast winter storm.
FILE – Vehicles drive down Saco’s Main Turnpike during falling snow Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016.
(Sean Patrick Ouellet/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images)
This storm’s setup differs from traditional cross-country storms that have brought snow conditions across the northern tier since early December.
Many variables can cause differences in the path of the system, leading to large variations in snowfall amounts, especially along the Mid-Atlantic coast and the Northeast.
East Coast to watch for rain and snow as new storms form as La Nia pattern returns
This heavily populated stretch of Interstate 95 is covered by a variety of scenarios, from little to no accumulation to an impactful snowstorm with plowable snow starting Thursday.
Meanwhile, computer forecast models are increasing confidence that snow will fall in the Tennessee River Valley and southern Appalachians on Thursday.
(FOX Weather)
A large dip in the jet stream will develop over the eastern half of the country starting Monday, potentially allowing arctic air to flow into the Lower 48.
What is Jetstream?
The storm will use its plunge to develop from a powerful clipper and turn from Canada into the Great Lakes on Tuesday, bringing rain, snow and cold air to the Midwest and Ohio Valley.
Clipper will move a strong cold front south and southeast as it passes through the Great Lakes and Northeast late Tuesday into Wednesday.
A big dip in the jet stream could send arctic air into the eastern U.S.
(FOX Weather/FOX Weather)
The cold front is expected to stall Tuesday night into Wednesday, ahead of which a more organized area of low pressure could develop over the Appalachians and parts of the Southeast.
As this low pressure system strengthens, it could draw colder air south, wrapping moisture around the system and sending snow across the Tennessee River Valley and southern Appalachians before spreading north.
As winter returns to La Nia, a shocking amount of snow and rain spreads across the East Coast
“The cold front associated with Clipper will play an important role throughout the storm’s progression, acting as a major boundary to help control and organize winter weather,” the FOX Prediction Center said.
(FOX Weather)
As the front moves east, its moisture and cold air could increase snowfall across the Mid-Atlantic and New England by Thursday.
The storm will begin to change as Thursday progresses.
(FOX Weather)
The original cold front gradually weakens and a new area of strong low pressure forms along the southeastern coast.
How this process plays out will largely determine how much snow falls near the coast, such as along I-95.
As winter returns to La Nia, a shocking amount of snow and rain spreads across the East Coast
FILE – Residents shovel snow during a storm on Sunday, January 7, 2024 in Hudson, New York, USA. Hundreds of flights were grounded across the United States after two winter storms left more than a foot of snow in New York’s Hudson Valley and triggered blizzard warnings across the Great Plains.
(Angus Mordaunt/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The main predictive factors for heavy snowfall are how quickly cold air will reach the northeast ahead of the storm, whether there will be sufficient moisture, and how close the storm will be to the coast.
A lack of either of these would limit snowpack along I-95.
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It signals the return of the cold, stormy winter pattern of La Niña after a brief lull last week, and people in traditional snow regions of the Midwest and Northeast are also taking note.
Check back for updates on this developing story.