Cnn
–
A quick winter storm exciting a dangerous combination of snow, grésil and ice moves in the Midwest on Saturday afternoon, with a snow foot provided in certain parts of the northeast Sunday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, more than 84 million people from Midwest in the northeast are under the vast winter alert. The storm already leads to flight delays and can provide dangerous traffic conditions and energy disturbances.
More than 2,400 flights inside, in or outside the United States, were delayed on Saturday, according to the Flight Aware flight tracking website. And more than 470 flights have already been canceled.
“Due to a winter storm across the northeast, Boston Logan expects delays and cancellations,” the airport said on Saturday afternoon.
On the ground, the storm will produce “dangerous movements due to low visibility, snowy and slippery roads. Current failures and minor trees damage is possible where the ice is heavier, “warns weather services.
On Saturday evening, up to 8 inches of snow are expected in certain parts of the large upper lakes. While the storm pushes east until Sunday morning, the state of New York and southern New England could see up to a snowpot. Meanwhile, a winter mixture of snow, gréil and icy rain is planned on the Ohio valley in the north of Mid-Atlantic, with accumulations of light ice expected.
“This storm could create dangerous travel conditions with almost zero visibility,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Friday when she declared the state of emergency. The governor has activated emergency protocols, including accelerated salt deliveries and removed the trucker’s hours to speed up road treatment.
The storm system moves in two rounds: the first brings heavy snow in the Midwest on Saturday afternoon, followed by significant snowfall in certain parts of the northeast, associated with freezing conditions in the Appalachians.
Where to expect snow and ice cream
Several meteorological systems will affect the northeast in the next 72 hours, the NWS Northeast River Forecast Center said on Thursday. Temperatures below normal are probably in a large part of the continental United States for the coming weeks, the agency said. This combination of active time and prolonged cold can bring a continuous section of winter disturbances for many Americans.
Here are the main impacts of the city, from Saturday afternoon:
- Green Bay, Wisconsin: Warning storm warning until 9 p.m. Saturday, 4-8 inches of snow expected
- Chicago: Winter weather adviser until 7 p.m. Saturday, the freezing burnt accumulating up to 0.1 inch
- Cleveland: Mixed precipitation expected, with up to 1 inch of snow and gries, and up to 0.2 inch of ice accumulation from 1 p.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
- Washington, DC: Winter weather adviser until 7 p.m. Saturday, waiting for mixed precipitation with up to 1 inch of snow and gries
- Philadelphia: Advisory of the midday winter weather on Saturday at 6 a.m. Sunday, with a chance of snow to turn into rain and mix of GRESIL after midnight
- New York: 3-5 inches of snow and gréil expected after 6 p.m. Saturday
- Boston: Winter storm warning after 10 p.m. Saturday, with 4-7 inches of snow expected
The timing of the storm coincides with the Super Bowl weekend, potentially complicating travel plans for fans heading for New Orleans. Airports of the main hubs like Chicago, Detroit and Boston are preparing for delays and cancellations due to snow and ice during the weekend.
Nearly 300 flights inside, or outside the United States, have already been canceled on Sunday of the Super Bowl, according to Flight Aware.
The meteorological service warned on Saturday that dense fog near Louisiana airports could complicate arrivals for thousands of fans going to New Orleans for Sunday’s match. But those who have famous football festivities that are easy to celebrate will enjoy sweet weather with highs in the 80s.
Two other systems are on the horizon for next week, another Arctic explosion should push the temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees below seasonal standards across the northeast. Meteorologists attribute this active scheme to the positioning of the Jet Ruisseau, which channels storms across the north of the United States.
The jet stream, essentially a river of air in the atmosphere which takes place in storms, is locked in an almost perfect line from west to east and will continue to complete the storms with rapid travel through the northern level of the 48 Lower.
This model was responsible for maintaining lower temperatures than average in a large part of the country this winter. New storms should arrive every few days until the Jet Stream changes – something that could not happen before the second half of February.
The storms of this weekend are only part of what forecastists expect to be an active February for the winter.
The meteorologist CNN Mary Gilbert and Dalia Faheid contributed to this report.