Snow Etc. Hitting Eastern US

A storm system that tracked out of the northern Gulf yesterday brought heavy rain to parts of the Gulf Coast, and wintry weather to parts of the Southeast. Nearly an two and three quarters inches of rain was reported along the northern Texas Coast, including Houston and Beaumont, while an inch of snow fell across the Atlanta area, resulting in traffic accidents and some road closures.

 
Today this same storm system will track into the southern Mid-Atlantic and to eventually the northern New England Coast by Friday.

 
A wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain will impact parts of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the western Carolinas, and southern Virginia today, including such cities as Greenville, Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Roanoke.

 
Up to a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation will be possible in some of these areas, while 3 to 5 inches of snow falls in some of the higher elevations. Precipitation will taper off and end from southwest to northeast through the day.

 
Meanwhile, a mix of rain and snow will advance into the Mid-Atlantic today and into the New England States tonight. This will impact areas from Baltimore and Washington, DC, through Philadelphia, to New York and Boston.

 
Locally, around an inch of snow may fall across interior areas, away from the coast, before precipitation transitions over to rain showers and then tapers off and ends Friday.

 
Heavy snow will develop over northern New England Thursday night into Friday, as the low pressure tracks east of that area. This could bring several inches to areas such as Burlington and Bangor.

 
Meanwhile, out West, high pressure centered over the area will continue to produce a strong off-shore flow over southern California, which will be enhanced by some stronger upper-level winds. The combination of these two factors will lead to a strong Santa Ana wind event, which will peak today.

 
Wind gust of 60 to 80 mph will be common, with local wind gusts across the higher mountains, canyons, and passes could exceed 100 mph. This will result in some wind damage across the area.