What: Major winter storm complete with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to impact Rockies, Plains, Midwest
When: Monday Night (January 31) through midday Wednesday (February 2)
Cities Potentially Impacted: Denver | Amarillo | Dallas | Oklahoma City | Wichita | Kansas City | St. Louis | Tulsa | Chicago | Indianapolis | Cincinnati | Dayton | Lexington
Scenario: Low pressure will develop in north-central Texas and tap into a huge resource of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. As the storm pushes into the Midwest, moisture will be captured and transported northward into the Front Range of the Rockies, Plains and Midwest where it will meet up with a fresh arctic air mass.
Impacts: A stripe of snow will set up from western Texas and eastern Colorado eastward across the central Plains and into the Ohio Valley. Some areas could experience a snowfall of more than 6 inches.
The snow will be accompanied with powerful winds which could produce occasional blizzard conditions for the Front Range and parts of the Plains.
South of the snow stripe, locations in the path can expect a dangerous mix of sleet and freezing rain.
Finally, there is the potential for severe storms containing damaging winds and tornadoes to sweep across Dixie from eastern Texas through Alabama.
Northeast Impacts
Plains, Midwest
What: After slamming the Plains and Midwest, a significant winter storm will move into the Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic and New England.
When: Early Wednesday morning (Groundhog Day) through early Thursday (February 3)
Cities Potentially Impacted: Greensboro | Roanoke | Charlottesville | Charleston, WV | Pittsburgh | Washington, DC | Baltimore | Philadelphia | New York | Syracuse | Buffalo | Albany | Hartford | Boston
Scenario: A winter storm containing a good deal of moisture will move from the Ohio Valley and mid-South into the Northeast. A secondary storm system could develop off the Virginia coast and track toward Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Impacts: Significant icing could unfold for West Virginia, the Piedmont of Virginia leading into Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. For a time, icing could target Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
As it stands right now, the heaviest snow has the best chance to fall across the interior Northeast from Pennsylvania into upstate New York and New England. With several days until this significant storm event, the finer details will be outlined early next week.
– Tim Ballisty, Editorial Meteorologist/The Weather Channel
