A densely populated swath of the US northeast was preparing for winter’s harshest thump yet, a fast-moving storm that could bring more than 30cm of snow, strong winds and coastal flooding.
Some places were poised to experience an atmospheric yo-yo: Philadelphia and New York hit 15oC on Wednesday, were expecting at least 15cm of snow yesterday and were bracing for bitterly cold temperatures overnight.
“This is going to be a big punch,” said Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts. “It’s originating in the Ohio River Valley and starts cranking as it comes across Appalachia.”
The storm was expected to hit eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey with rain early yesterday morning, before changing over to snow in time for the morning commute.
The weather service predicted some parts of the Boston area and eastern Maine would get 30cm to 46cm of snow.
Near whiteout conditions were possible, with snow expected to fall at a clip of 5cm to 10cm per hour at the storm’s height.
The weather service issued a blizzard warning for some coastal areas.
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