Heavy snow, rain to slam Northeast this week

A potent winter storm will plaster the interior Northeast with snow this week while drenching the big cities along the I-95 corridor with heavy, potentially flooding rains.

"This will be a snowstorm for some areas well inland, while impacts similar to a tropical storm will occur along the coast, including much of Interstate 95." AccuWeather meteorologist Elliot Abrams said.

The National Weather Service has posted a winter storm watch for much of New York State, northern Pennsylvania and interior portions of New England. A watch is issued when heavy snow or ice are possible for an area.

Six to 12 inches of snow is possible across most of the region, though some high mountain areas may tally up to two feet of total snow through Thursday, according to the Weather Channel.

The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Damon.

Cities at risk for one or more rounds of heavy snow and slippery travel include Scranton, Pa,; Binghamton and Albany, N.Y., and Burtlington, Vt., AccuWeather predicts.

The weather service warns of possible power outages due to heavy wet snow and icing in northern Vermont, where winds are predicted to top 20 mph.

The storm will be a mainly rain event for the I-95 corridor from Boston southward to Washington, D.C., and threatens to trigger flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas, AccuWeather said.

Flood watches have been hoisted by the weather service over much of southern New England southward into northern New Jersey, including the New York City Tri-State area, Hartford and Boston, the Weather Channel reported.

High-tide flooding not directly tied to the developing storm was also occurring Monday along the North Carolina coast.

Winds will also howl, especially along the coast. Gusts of up to 50 mph are possible in southern New England.