Winter weather warnings are in place for parts of nine states as snow is forecast to continue over New England, as another front brings snow to mountain regions in the West.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued alerts for California, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia, as one storm moves off the East Coast while the other moves inland over the coming few days.
In its latest forecast, the NWS said that the system that has already brought significant snowfall to New England—as well as sparking tornado watches in the central-eastern Midwest and blizzard conditions in the Great Lakes—would linger over Maine into the weekend, bringing another 4-8 inches of snow before it eventually tapers off.
Meanwhile, snow showers are predicted to continue over the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia, with the heaviest snowfall due to take place on Friday night. Up to five inches of snow is expected to fall until midnight, with locally higher totals possible, and winds as high as 40 miles an hour along mountain ridges.
In northeastern New York, an additional eight inches of snow is forecast through Friday morning beyond what has already fallen, while portions of the Adirondacks into Vermont will see similar amounts, bringing the storm total to 20 inches in the region—with localized amounts approaching two feet.
In the Champlain Valley, scattered to widespread power cuts are set to continue. According to data aggregator PowerOutage, there are nearly 15,000 customers without power in Vermont, but nearly 110,000 in New Hampshire and over 285,000 in Maine, as of 3:30 a.m. ET.
In New Hampshire, an avalanche warning is in place for the Presidential Range due to strong winds and 2-3 feet of snow on higher summits. Elsewhere in the state, light snow is expected.
Moving into northern Maine, up to seven inches of additional snowfall is predicted while winds are set to gust as high as 40 miles an hour, potentially damaging trees and power lines. The NWS warned that blowing snow created the possibility of brief whiteout conditions in places.
The storm in the northeast has come just two weeks after New England faced several rounds of snow from two late winter fronts, after a northeasterly storm brought snow showers to the region the week prior.
The NWS said on the other side of the country, a "very strong and impactful" low-pressure system, which has already brought heavy snowfall to the Sierra Nevada range, would spread a wintry mix of precipitation and strong winds into the interior West into the weekend.
Snow showers bringing up to eight inches are set to spread into the Rockies on Friday night into Saturday, before the storm intensifies over the Front Range, with scattered thunderstorms possible on Saturday night.
In the San Gabriel mountains of California, snow accumulations are expected to reach up to 10 inches above 6,000 feet, with winds as high as 45 miles an hour. Similar levels of snowfall are predicted for mountain ranges in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and up to a foot in the mountains of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
In the Sierra Nevada range from California into Nevada, up to 10 inches of snow is anticipated where banded snow showers become intensified. Nevada's Ruby and Humboldt ranges are forecast to see as much as 20 inches of snow and winds reaching 60 miles an hour.
Meanwhile, in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington, up to 17 inches of snow is expected into Saturday morning, along with winds of up to 35 miles an hour.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
