A major winter storm is intensifying across the Northeastern U.S., bringing snow, ice and travel disruptions for millions on Tuesday. A low-pressure system moving from Pennsylvania toward Maine is expected to drop 6 inches or more in several states and could snarl the Tuesday evening commute, federal forecasters say.
Parts of Appalachia along the Virginia–West Virginia border are forecast to see widespread icing that could make roadways and sidewalks treacherous. Maine Gov. Janet Mills urged caution, told residents to stock emergency supplies at home and in vehicles, and to check on neighbors; some areas of Down East Maine could see up to a foot of snow. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for five northern counties expected to be hardest hit.
The storm follows heavy Midwest snowfall over the busy travel weekend, when northwestern Indiana and northern Illinois saw 6 to 11 inches of snow and Chicago set a new record for most snowfall in one November day. Milwaukee reported totals from about 6 inches to a foot and declared a snow emergency in parts of the area.
The National Weather Service said parts of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine could receive at least a half inch of snow by Wednesday morning. The heaviest snow is forecast along a swath from the Poconos in Pennsylvania to coastal Maine, where 5 to 10 inches are possible and snowfall rates could exceed an inch per hour. The system is expected to move into Canada by Wednesday morning.
A separate winter system was also forecast to produce snow in parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming from Tuesday evening into Thursday, with the NWS in Boulder warning of a slow, slick and hazardous Wednesday morning commute.