A powerful winter storm is strengthening across the Northeastern United States, dumping snow and ice and disrupting travel for millions on Tuesday. A low-pressure system tracking from Pennsylvania toward Maine is forecast to drop 6 inches or more in parts of the region and could complicate the Tuesday evening commute, federal forecasters say.
Sections of the Appalachians along the Virginia–West Virginia border face widespread icing that may make roads and sidewalks dangerously slick. Maine Gov. Janet Mills urged residents to exercise caution, stock emergency supplies at home and in vehicles, and check on neighbors; some Down East Maine communities could see up to a foot of snow. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for five northern counties expected to take the brunt of the storm.
The system comes on the heels of heavy Midwest snowfall over a busy travel weekend. Northwestern Indiana and northern Illinois reported 6 to 11 inches, and Chicago recorded its highest single-day November snowfall on record. Milwaukee measured roughly 6 inches to a foot in places and issued a snow emergency for parts of the area.
The National Weather Service warned that parts of New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine could pick up at least a half inch of snow by Wednesday morning. The heaviest accumulations are expected along a corridor 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 forecast to move into Canada by Wednesday morning.
A separate winter system is also expected to bring snow to parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming from Tuesday evening into Thursday, with the NWS office in Boulder cautioning commuters about a slow, slick and hazardous Wednesday morning drive.