NEW ENGLAND — The Alberta Clipper system that originated in Canada a few days ago and slide through the Great Lakes with little fanfare for West Michigan is going to become a major headache for the Northeast United States this week. While the system is generating some snow through the Ohio Valley, it is expected to track just offshore of the Northeast United States, strengthen, then pick up copious amounts of moisture and deposit several inches of snow along coastal areas.
The National Weather Service in Boston created a graphic (see it below) and posted it to their Facebook page stating this is a “potentially historic blizzard.”
Major cities up and down the eastern seaboard from Philadelphia, to Newark, New York, New Haven, Providence, Boston, and Portland will be heavily impacted by this storm. Conditions will start deteriorating Monday afternoon/evening (in the south) and will continue in to Wednesday (to the north in to Maine). Winds inland are expected to reach 40 to 60 mph, while at the coast could be on the order of 50 to 70 mph. Snowfall amounts will be on the order of 18 to 24 inches in the warning areas along the coast, while further inland areas under Winter Storm Warnings will see about 12 to 16 inches. See the graphic attached to this story for the latest computer forecast model snowfall totals.
The current watches/warnings/advisories can be found in our graphic below.
Keep in mind that a shift in the track of this system by 50 to 100 miles can change snowfall amounts drastically. Make sure to stay up on later forecasts if your travel plans take you through any of the major Northeastern/New England cities. Click herefor the latest airport delay map from the Federal Aviation Administration.
By contrast, our West Michigan weather will generally be on the quite side this week except for the possibility of some accumulating snow late Wednesday in to Thursday. Get the complete forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.
