Powerful winter storm to end the week

A complicated and powerful winter storm will lift northeast from the Gulf of Mexico to the New Jersey coastal waters by tomorrow afternoon producing a wide variety of winter weather.  The powerful storm, already producing crippling freezing rain over the Southeast, will have a major impact on the region late tonight through early Friday morning.  Another round of light snow can be expected by Saturday morning as well.  Then a change in the pattern is on the way!

High pressure will remain in control through this afternoon with slowly increasing clouds and winds from the north at 5 to 15 mph.  Temperatures will slowly rise into the lower to mid 20's for highs this afternoon.

Snow will start to push into the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan areas from 11 PM to 3 AM from south to north.  The snow will be of a heavy, wet variety and will accumulate rapidly.  The snow is expected to continue through the morning hours tomorrow before starting to mix with and change to sleet and freezing rain from southeast to northwest towards the I-95 corridor.  All locations to the northwest of I-95 will remain all snow with significant snowfall accumulations.  Meanwhile, locations along the immediate coast will go over to rain rather quickly, thus lower snowfall totals and barely any ice.  However, locations from southeastern Pennsylvania and southwestern New Jersey through central New Jersey, the New York City metropolitan area, western Long Island, and coastal Connecticut will have a prolonged period of sleet and freezing rain leading to significant ice accumulations.  The area of highest volatility in the forecast will be this region.  All precipitation will change back over to snow tomorrow evening and will be heavy at times before end on early Friday morning.

Winds through this storm will veer from the north to the northeast and east-northeast at 10 to 20 mph, increasing to 15 to 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph by tomorrow afternoon.  The winds will then back to the northwest at 15 to 30 mph tomorrow evening through Friday morning.  The combination of heavy wet snow and ice with these winds will lead to the threat for power outages and downed branches.  The strong northeasterly and easterly winds will also lead to the threat for coastal flooding tomorrow morning, especially in the Battery of New York City and along the New Jersey coast.

Temperatures will rise into the upper 20's to lower 30's over the interior and mid to upper 30's along the coast through tomorrow before crashing into the 20's by tomorrow evening into Friday morning.

The storm will exit early Friday morning with some clearing expected into the afternoon hours.  Under the influence of a northwesterly to westerly wind,  temperature swill rebound into the upper 30's to lower 40's over the interior and lower to mid 40's along the coast.

Another area of low pressure will track to the south of New Jersey on Saturday morning with a period of light snowfall with additional snowfall accumulations of around an inch over the northern interior to as much as four inches over southern New Jersey on Saturday morning.  The low pressure system will exit to mark the start of a very much needed moderating trend in the pattern.  Temperatures will range from the mid to upper 20's for lows and lower to mid 30's for highs.

High pressure will be in control Sunday through Tuesday morning with scattered cloud cover and a developing southwesterly wind.  A warm front will followed on Tuesday afternoon with periods of showers.  Temperatures will moderate through the period.  Temperatures on Sunday will range from the mid to upper 10's for lows and upper 20's to lower 30's for highs.  Temperatures on Monday will range from the mid to upper 10's for lows and mid 30's to lower 40's for highs.  Temperatures on Tuesday will range from the upper 20's to lower 30's for lows and mid to upper 40's for highs.