Feb. 19 (UPI) — Another winter storm is trekking across the United States Wednesday, dumping snow in the Rockies en route to the East Coast, forecasters said.
Winter storm warnings have been issued for New Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan. Advisories have been issued for the Midwest and south to Oklahoma and parts of North Texas.
Forecasters said the storm has the potential to impact 200 million Americans this week.
“The real feel will be terrible and it will be everywhere,” Accuweather meteorologist Elliot Abrams told USA Today. “Snow, ice, sleet, flooding, you name it you got it across the country. It will feel cold and it will be messy, misty and miserable.”
While the storm is bringing cold, it’s nothing like the sustained polar vortex that dropped the mercury into negative territory a few weeks ago. That storm was blamed for 21 deaths in the Midwest.
On Tuesday, the storm was projected to impact travel along the Interstate 25 and Interstate 40 corridors. Separate storms are pushing snow and ice into Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Parts of the Upper Midwest could get 6 inches or more.
Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the Appalachian Mountains areas will get freezing rain and ice. Winter storm warnings have been issued for the Carolinas and Maryland. The Washington D.C.-Balitmore area could get 3 to 6 inches, too.
“Hopefully it changes to all rain quickly,” Abrams said. “A quarter of an inch of ice, you might get by. A half an inch and you have branches snapping, wires down, major problems.”
New York City could get a couple inches by Wednesday afternoon, making for a treacherous commute home that evening. Boston is expected to get a burst of snow followed by rain. Forecasters said the winter weather could linger in New York and New England.
