Snow forecast in East and West this week: Here's where the flakes will fly in the US
A pair of winter storms will bring snowy weather to two separate portions of the country Wednesday and into Thursday. Neither event is expected to be overly disruptive, forecasters say, but each could cause some minor travel troubles where the flakes fly.
The two areas that will be affected by wintry precipitation are parts of the Northeast and the Colorado Rockies.
Elsewhere Tuesday, record warmth was forecast in portions of the South and a combination of smoke and fog were blamed for yet another deadly traffic accident in New Orleans.
Snow, ice target Northeast
The northeastern winter storm will primarily impact upstate New York and northern New England starting later Wednesday and lasting into early Thursday.
Cities such as Burlington, Vermont; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine, are among the locations that are likely to pick up a small wintry mix from the storm later Wednesday night to Thursday, according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
"A bit of ice may make some surfaces slippery in Albany, New York, and Worcester, Massachusetts," he added.
The National Weather Service forecast office in Gray, Maine, said that "accumulation will be light…but the potential exists for some slippery conditions." As of Tuesday afternoon, no winter weather advisories or winter storm watches had yet been posted for the storm.
Farther to the south, including in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston, the air will be a bit too warm to allow for any ice or snow, Sosnowski said.
Snow also expected in Colorado
Another snow event is on the way for Colorado, including the Denver metro area.
The second accumulating snow for Denver in a little over a week is brewing as another push of chilly air approaches the region, AccuWeather said.
"This particular snow event coming Wednesday night to Thursday morning is likely to be much less intense for the Denver metro area, compared to the heavy snowfall from late October," AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Wimer said.
He said the storm is likely to bring a coating to perhaps 1 inch across the metro area with 3 to perhaps 6 inches farther to the west over the foothills and 6-12 inches along the Front Range. Motorists in the region and airline passengers traveling through Denver International Airport could see some travel delays for Thursday morning.
The weather service in Denver said that by Thursday, "the weather system will move southeast of the area withlingering light snow ending over the higher terrain during the morning."
Record warmth in the South
While parts of the northern tier of the nation see winter-like weather, summerlike warmth will be the main story in the South over the next couple of days.
A southerly flow of air across the central and southeastern U.S. will bring unusual warmth for much of the Great Plains to the East Coast before a cold front sweeps through on Thursday, the weather service said.
Many places from the southern Plains to the central and southern Appalachians could see record high temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday as readings soar into the 80s from Arizona to Virginia.
Another deadly accident in New Orleans amid smoke, fog
Dense smoke reminiscent of last month’s “superfog” that rolled into Louisiana has led to a deadly crash that shut down Interstate 10 in the New Orleans area early Tuesday, police said.
One person was killed and several others were taken to the hospital after the multi-vehicle accident, which occurred around 4:30 a.m.
Multiple fires were burning in the area, and the weather service had issued a dense smoke advisory. Forecasters also noted "limited fog" in the area.
The smoke had mostly cleared by noon but conditions remained hazy, according to the weather service. The interstate is expected to remain shut down until late this afternoon, Weather.com reported.
"This was yet another example illustrating that hazardous weather can happen in the absence of a storm," Weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.
Contributing: The Associated Press