Storm may ramp up, unload heavy snow from Long Island to Eastern New England

Late on Wednesday, the clipper will be pushing out of the Midwest and pushing into the Northeast, bringing minor snow when compared to the substantial snow totals of the last week or two.

Over the past couple of day the forecast for the Northeast has been closely watched due to model uncertainty in how the track of two systems approaching the region were going to interact.

The first system, is the Alberta Clipper that will bring light snow to the northern Plains and Midwest through Wednesday, and the second is a low pressure sliding along the central Gulf Coast.

After bringing drenching rain and thunderstorms from the Louisiana coast through the Florida Panhandle, this system will slide into the Atlantic Ocean and up the Eastern Seaboard.

Exactly how close to the coast this low tracks will determine how much snow falls from the mid-Atlantic coast to eastern New England.

Most Likely: Heavier, Coastal Snow in New England

At this time, the forecasting team at AccuWeather anticipate that these systems will remain separate over the Northeast. The clipper system will continue to bring a wave of lighter snow from the Ohio Valley through the mid-Atlantic, but it will be pushed further north as the Gulf Coast system advanced northward, bringing a few snow showers from Long Island through most of southern New England.

However, AccuWeather's Meteorologist Ben Noll stated that "The two areas of low pressure will actually merge over the Canadian Maritimes late on Thursday, east of the U.S. mainland, but not before much of the Northeast sees 1-3 inches of snow. A small corridor from eastern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine could see 3-6 inches"

This could bring several inches of snow for cities like Providence, Rhode Island, Boston and Portland, Maine. Minor snow is still expected farther inland across New York and northern New England.

In this case, lighter snow will begin Wednesday night and Thursday morning with the clipper, then the new merged storm will intensify offshore, allowing heavier snow to fall Thursday afternoon and evening.

Overall, snow totals are still expected to be less than those from the storm at the beginning of the week.

Least Disruptive: Storm out to Sea, Less Snowfall

The less likely scenario takes the Gulf Coast system and takes it out into the Atlantic. Instead of curving back into southern New England, the storm will continue out to sea.

Although heavier storm amounts are not expected with this solution, the clipper system will still bring a swath of light snow across Pennsylvania and New York and into New England Wednesday night through early Thursday.

Whichever scenario works out, another push of arctic air will follow the storm and will sweep across Northeast before the end of the week. Highs on Friday across much of the Northeast will be in the teens and 20s.

AccuWeather.com will continue to provide updates on the waves of cold air and additional snow.

Also on AOL:
Chopper Bob discusses transition from man to woman
Lance Armstrong in hot water over his lying ways
Carroll explains Seahawks decision at end of Super Bowl
Biography claims Prince Charles almost didn't marry Diana