On Friday, a winter storm that dumped snow and dangerous ice on parts of the Great Lakes and the Northeast began screaming at travelers and causing power outages. And the heaviest snow is yet to come.
Hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled at Philadelphia International Airport and New York’s three largest airports, according to FlightAware, with those hubs at the top of the list of canceled flights nationwide.
More than 44,000 homes and businesses were also without power in Michigan as ice weighed down trees and power lines, according to poweroutage.us.
More than 23 million people are under winter storm warnings through Saturday, including New York City, which could see its heaviest snowfall since 2022.
Warnings are in effect for areas northeast of New York City to Connecticut, east to Long Island, and southwest to northern New Jersey. Inland areas of New York, including the Hudson Valley, Albany and Binghamton, are also in the warning zone.
Acting Governor Tahesha Way announced the order will go into effect Friday at 1 p.m. ET in New Jersey and urged people to avoid traveling during the storm. The state announced restrictions on some commercial vehicles, including semitrailers, on interstate highways starting Friday afternoon.
A winter weather warning is in effect for Philadelphia, with a fast-moving storm expected to bring a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain Friday.
Snow and sleet could fall in the New York City and Philadelphia metros by Friday afternoon, and the snow is expected to continue overnight. The tri-state area could see 5 to 9 inches of snow, with heavy snow possible Friday night, the National Weather Service said.
A small area of 8 to 12 inches of snow is expected to fall from Long Island, New York, to Connecticut and parts of New York state north of New York City, the NWS said.
The exact total is still unknown, as it will depend on where the heavier snow develops in relation to the Big Apple, but some locations north and west of the city could receive more than 8 inches of snow. Additionally, if the sleet mixes with the snow in New York City, it could reduce the accumulation in New York City.
The last time New York City saw a snowstorm of at least 4 inches was on January 7, 2022. This snow streak could end by Saturday as the storm moves out of the area in the morning.
Philadelphia is expected to see a heavy mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain, with 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet possible. Exactly where the cold air meets the storm’s moisture determines how much snow, sleet, freezing rain, or rain falls in a metropolitan area.
An ice storm warning for 0.2 to 0.3 inches of ice accumulation, enough to damage trees and power lines, is in effect until Saturday morning for western Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh and west of Altoona. As of noon Friday, icy precipitation had occurred across the state, including snow in northeastern Pennsylvania. “Ice effects are likely to cause power outages and tree damage. Travel could become nearly impossible,” the NWS said.
Further south, Washington, D.C., is receiving primarily rain from this storm system, while northern areas of Maryland are receiving sleet and cold rain.
