- Parts of Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee will take the first hit from the storm.
- The storm could bring strong winds, draw in more moisture and generate higher snow totals as it heads toward New England.
- More than 100,000 Virginia homes and businesses were without power Thursday from Monday’s storm.
A strip of the east coast was preparing Thursday for the second great winter storm in five days as blinding snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures swept through much of the northern part of the country.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said a storm should develop targeting much of the east at first bomb cyclone 2022. A bomb cyclone is defined as a storm whose central pressure plummets 24 millibars in 24 hours. The storm could bring strong winds, draw in more moisture and generate higher snow totals as it heads toward New England, Lundberg said.
In the east, New York state was already being battered by lake-effect snow Thursday. Buffalo had already collected more than 14 inches of snow by early afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
“Heavy snowfall at Buffalo Airport this morning already set a record for the date,” the National Weather Service tweeted Thursday.
In the south, Nashville also saw snow Thursday: “Snow has spread across much of central Tennessee, including the Nashville subway, and travel is deteriorating rapidly,” the National Weather Service tweeted in Nashville. “Sometimes they can drop 1 to 2 inches an hour.”
Thursday was the snowiest day in Nashville since January 22, 2016, when 8 inches of snow fell in one day, according to AccuWeather. As of noon Thursday, the airport was 4 inches from midnight, AccuWeather said.
Tennessee authorities urged people to travel only when necessary. Metro Nashville police reported accidents and other driving problems that jammed and slowed down several highways. Police reported dozens of shipwrecks on the roads in the early afternoon.
Along the Kentucky border, authorities in Montgomery County, Tennessee, were also dealing with dozens of crashes, including one that killed a person involving a commercial vehicle on Interstate 24.
Schools in the region canceled classes, including a closure until Friday for Nashville public school students.
Parts of Maryland and Virginia were awaiting the storm, which was due to arrive Thursday afternoon and evening.
In and around Washington, DC, where more than a foot of snow fell in some places Monday, up to 3 more inches of snow was forecast from Thursday night through Friday.
WHAT IS A CYCLONE PUMP ?:The meteorological phenomenon is basically a winter hurricane.
Virginia officials sought to reassure the public Thursday as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a blizzard earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95 in freezing temperatures.
Crews in Virginia worked through Tuesday to clear a roughly 50-mile traffic jam on I-95 that trapped dozens of drivers in their cars for more than 24 hours. More than 100,000 Virginia homes and businesses were without power Thursday from Monday’s storm.
“These back-to-back storms will create historic winter weather that requires additional flexibility, particularly as many continue to grapple with power outages,” said Governor Ralph Northam, who declared a state of emergency and formally requested the Virginia National Guard for assistance before the last storm.
Northam also dismissed the criticism, questioning why drivers were on the roads when they had been warned to stay home.
Virginia lawmakers, local officials, at least two members of Congress and the AAA car club called for action. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Crystal Vanuch, a lifelong Republican and county native, said Thursday that the stalemate was “probably the biggest disaster we’ve ever seen.”
According to Vanuch, the county emergency operations command received approximately 1,800 calls for service over a 24-hour period, more than five times the normal number, and was told by local emergency workers they weren’t getting the help they needed from the state officials.
Northam, a Democrat leaving office later this month, said in an unusually combative interview that he was “getting sick and tired of people talking about what went wrong.”
He told WRVA radio station that no one was injured and that people should thank first responders and emergency workers.
‘UN INDAGUE’: Why drivers were stranded overnight, some for 24 hours, on I-95 in Virginia
Up to a foot of snow could sweep away parts of Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, if the storm strengthens fast enough, AccuWeather said. Boston expected up to 8 inches.
“This will be a disruptive storm, and since cold air will precede the storm, snow will accumulate on the roads as soon as it starts,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno.
ICE CAUSES DEADLY TRAFFIC PROBLEMS: Virginia Governor Northam Declares State of Emergency
Lake-effect snow bands were already hitting Buffalo and the surrounding areas of western New York on Thursday, producing snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Gusty winds of up to 25 mph were also creating limited visibility and dangerous travel conditions along stretches of Interstate 90.
However, the news was not all bad: the storm was a boon for the ski industry in West Virginia, where up to 8 inches of snow was forecast. Three of the state’s four major alpine ski resorts had suspended operations on slopes earlier this week due to warmer conditions. Now the activity was picking up.
“West Virginia can’t wait to welcome travelers to our snow-capped mountains this winter,” said Chelsea Ruby, secretary of the state Department of Tourism.
Elsewhere, in the Upper Midwest, parts of Michigan were buried under a foot of snow, with more expected on Friday. Minnesota and Wisconsin had expected less snow, but freezing winds of minus 25 to minus 35 will continue through Friday morning across much of the state, the weather service said.
Dangerously cold temperatures engulfing North Dakota have lowered wind chill readings to minus 59 degrees in Bowbells, the county seat of Burke County in northwestern North Dakota.
And a powerful storm hit parts of Colorado Thursday with what could reach 40 centimeters of snow, the National Weather Service said. In some areas, the winds blew at 55 mph.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism