Millions Of Americans Warned As ‘Hazardous’ Winter Storm Approaches

Winter weather alerts stretched across large portions of the country early Friday as the National Weather Service warned that a powerful system could dump up to 3 feet of snow in some regions and make travel treacherous heading into the weekend.

Winter storm warnings, which the NWS issues when “a significant combination of hazardous winter weather is occurring or imminent,” were in effect for parts of California, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Alaska and Connecticut.

In California’s Mono County, forecasters said additional snowfall could reach 1 to 3 feet above 8,000 feet, with 4 to 12 inches expected below that elevation and along U.S. 395. The Greater Lake Tahoe area was also bracing for heavy accumulation, with 8 to 16 inches forecast in many communities and up to 3 feet in higher elevations above 7,000 feet. Those warnings were set to remain in place through 4 p.m. Friday.

“Travel could be very difficult to impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute,” the NWS warned. “Very strong winds could cause extensive damage to trees and power lines.”

Across the Mountain West, winter storm warnings covered wide swaths of Idaho, including the Big Hole Mountains, Bear River Range, Sawtooth and Stanley Basin, and the Sun Valley region, where up to 18 inches of snow was forecast through early Saturday. Similar totals were possible in Wyoming’s Sierra Madre Range and Colorado’s Elkhead and Park mountains.

In the Northeast, the NWS said parts of southern Connecticut, northeast New Jersey and southeast New York could see up to 9 inches of snow, with alerts running from Friday afternoon through early Saturday. Northern Wayne, Pike and Southern Wayne counties in Pennsylvania were also expected to see similar accumulations.

Winter weather advisories were posted for a long list of additional states, including Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Massachusetts.

“The upper Midwest will see a swathe of snow and ice blossoming this morning ahead of a clipper system that is pushing against a high pressure system in eastern Canada feeding the cold air,” the NWS Weather Prediction Center said.

The agency warned that freezing rain could impact areas from lower Michigan to Pennsylvania, including major metro areas such as Baltimore and Philadelphia, while New York City and Long Island were forecast to see 4 to 8 inches of snow late Friday into the night. “Road conditions will be treacherous for those traveling back from the holiday,” forecasters cautioned.

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