Blizzard warnings are in effect for 11 million people from coastal Virginia to eastern Maine as a potentially historic winter storm is set to slam the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beginning Friday.
Why it matters: The storm will bring hazards ranging from zero visibility amid hurricane force wind gusts and heavy snow, to coastal flooding that will erode vulnerable beaches and threaten property from the Jersey shore to coastal Massachusetts.
The big picture: The storm is expected to rapidly intensify as it moves from the Carolinas on Friday evening to a position south-southeast of Cape Cod on Saturday. A total of 75 million people were under some form of winter weather alerts as of Friday afternoon.
- As the storm moves north, it will bring a swath of extremely heavy snowfall and strong winds, with one to two feet of snow or more forecast to fall from coastal Virginia to eastern Maine.
- The highest snow totals are expected in Massachusetts, where Boston is predicted to see at least two feet, with up to 30 inches in parts of the metro area, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). This event may become the biggest snowstorm on record in Boston.
[11:30 AM Friday] Here is our latest expected snowfall forecast. Widespread accumulations of 18-24" are expected across E. MA & RI, with 24"+ most likely across Plymouth County. Please do not wait to make storm preparations, travel will be hazardous to near impossible Saturday. pic.twitter.com/4KRIOUBwpQ...
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 28, 2022
- The low pressure area responsible for this blizzard will undergo a process known as bombogenesis Friday