Persistent wintry weather to pester the northeastern US

Winter lovers in the northeastern United States have been disappointed by a generally mild January thus far, but a return to wintry conditions has commenced and will continue into midweek.

Areas of snow and flurries that persisted from Sunday night to Monday morning were part of the old storm that affected the region over the weekend.

At the start of this past weekend, a large storm system pushed across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast and spread an expansive swath of snow. Accumulating snow from this storm also blanketed portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. About 1-2 feet of snow piled up over the Adirondack, Green and White mountains of the interior Northeast.

The effects of this old storm will be replaced with a common January pattern of weak storms that travel from the northern tier of the Midwest to northern New England through the end of this week. The pattern will produce rounds of lake-effect snow, as well as patches of general snowfall. The pattern will also allow waves of cold air to move southward from Canada, now that Arctic air has moved into Canada.

"The atmospheric pattern is setting up in a manner that will deliver multiple rounds of relatively weak storm systems diving southward from central Canada over the next week or so," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. "These storm systems will not feature ample amounts of moisture within them, so overall snowfall accumulations within each passing disturbance should remain relatively light."

"Although major snowfall accumulations are not expected across a majority of the Midwest and Northeast this week, the rounds of light snowfall will likely cause travel issues for some," Buckingham explained. "Sometimes, a light snowfall event can give drivers a false sense of security in thinking that road conditions may not be so bad, but at times, these 'minor' snowfall events can actually lead to more traffic accidents than major snowstorms."

Travelers, especially those on interstates 80, 86 and 90, will need to remain weather aware for much of the week and monitor for rapidly changing conditions.

As lake-effect snow ramps up, heavier amounts of snow will pile up, such as in parts of western and northern New York state, due to persistent bands of snow from lakes Erie and Ontario into Tuesday night.

More lake-effect snow is forecast beyond Tuesday night. In fact, forecasters are growing increasingly concerned of heavier snow squalls to develop and swing through portions of the Great Lakes and into the central Appalachians during Tuesday night. These squalls can bring sudden whiteout conditions and a quick covering of snow on the roadways.

"Over the next week, the zone of steadiest snow and highest accumulations is expected to reside downwind of the Great Lakes," Buckingham said. "With overall ice coverage at a measly 1.8% across the Great Lakes, the cold air tracking over the relatively warm water will help to enhance snowfall accumulation in the typical snow belts."

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In addition to snowflakes flying in the air and some accumulating on pavement to create slippery travel this week, a return to colder, more typical January conditions this week will add to the wintry feel.

Into at least midweek, high temperatures each day will top out in the 30s F from the Great Lakes to portions of Pennsylvania and southern New York, with 10s F and 20s F for much of interior New England. Temperatures in this range are more akin to normal mid-January conditions for the Midwest and Northeast.

Conditions so far this January have been unusually mild for much of the Midwest and Northeast. As of Tuesday morning, locations like Toledo, Ohio, and Springfield, Massachusetts, have recorded temperature departures from average so far this month of a whopping +8.0 degrees Fahrenheit and +8.3 degrees respectively.

AccuWeather forecasters have been monitoring the return of very cold Arctic air to the northern tier of the United States. With each weak system that dives through the Midwest and Northeast this week, progressively chillier air will be able to settle over these portions of the country. However, even in the depth of the colder pattern during the end of the month, records are not likely to be broken, at least over a broad area.

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