As winter tightens its grip on the United States, a pair of significant storms is poised to sweep across various regions this week, bringing with them a substantial amount of snowfall and inclement weather to major cities including Chicago and Washington, D.C. According to ABC7 meteorologists, Chicago is due to witness what could be the heaviest snowfall of the winter season so far, with cold temperatures leading to possible flurries on Tuesday.
Presumably affecting the Windy City through midweek, "Wednesday's morning commute will likely not be impacted, but the evening commute will," said ABC7 meteorologist Tracy Butler. Across the city, snow accumulations could range from 4 to 8 inches. Meanwhile, over in the capital, the forecast suggests 4 to 6 inches of snow for the D.C. and Baltimore area, as detailed in an overview by ABC News.
The first of these two storms spans a stretch from Colorado to Delaware and is expected to impact the area from Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning. By Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET, projections indicate the presence of heavy rain from Dallas to Nashville, Tennessee, while snowfall is anticipated from Louisville, Kentucky, to Richmond, Virginia. In the nation's capital, the onset of snow is expected around noon on Tuesday, with its stay possibly extending beyond 12 hours.
As that initial storm departs the East Coast, the subsequent system commences in the Midwest. "At 7 a.m. ET Wednesday, widespread snow is expected from Colorado to Iowa to Missouri" as per ABC News, while heavy rain could inundate areas from Houston to Louisiana, potentially leading to flash flooding situations, Heavy rain in the South, too, may cause flash flooding. For Chicagoans, they can expect snowfall to begin around 9 a.m. Wednesday and persist for over 12 hours. Weather models suggest that the city could see between 5 to 9 inches of accumulation.
The repercussions of these storms are not confined to snowfall alone. As the second storm advances, Eastern cities like New York and Boston brace for a snowy Wednesday night that is likely to transition into rain as darkness falls. The combined effects of these weather events warrant attention due to potential snow accumulation in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and the risk of flooding rain across a wide expanse of the South.
