Travel delays expected on the East Coast as powerful Nor’easter brings rain and snow

ALBANY, N.Y. — Millions of Americans are waking up to their first big snow of the season, as a powerful nor’easter is bringing some combination of rain, ice and snow to parts of the East Coast, including the densely populated northeast portion of Interstate 95 corridor, which could potentially compound travel headaches that resulted from the storm that slammed the Midwest this weekend, as this La Niña winter season gets underway.

A fast-moving area of low pressure has moved out of the Southeast and up along the East Coast early Tuesday morning.

According to the Fox Forecast Center, some computer forecast models are drawing an extremely sharp boundary between rain and snow, which is currently expected to set up just inland of I-95.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a State of Emergency beginning at 5:00 A.M. ET on Tuesday due to the significant impacts expected from the storm.

While temperatures will likely be too warm for snow along the coast, periods of heavy rain Tuesday could cause travel delays at airports in Washington, DC., Philadelphia, Newark, New Jersey, New York City and Boston.

The most consistent part of the forecast continues to be for inland areas from the Ohio Valley into interior New England.

Winter Storm Watches have been posted for parts of central and upstate New York, western Massachusetts, southern Vermont, southern New Hampshire and southern Maine, while Winter Storm Alerts are in effect from the Ohio Valley up to Maine.

A mix of moisture and cold air is expected to bring 1–3 inches of snow across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Upstate New York and much of New England, while middle New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are expected to see 5–8 inches.

The effects of the snow will be amplified across higher elevations, including parts of the Adirondacks, Green and White mountain ranges through Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, where exactly the rain-snow line sets up could have significant impacts on drivers. Anywhere between a coating and 0.25 of an inch of ice is forecast for roads in the Appalachians, particularly in West Virginia and Virginia.

Higher elevations in Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley and Connecticut could also see ice accumulating.

However, small accumulations, even a quarter of an inch of ice, can be extremely dangerous for drivers and pedestrians alike.

Farther south, icy conditions are forecast for the mountains of western North Carolina, where many communities are still recovering from devastating Hurricane Helene in 2024.

This low-pressure system is expected to maintain its speed and clear out by Wednesday morning.

Another round of even colder arctic air is expected to reach the East Coast by Thursday, which could create slick roads during the morning rush.

The presence of a La Niña pattern historically tends to bring more frequent nor’easters along the Eastern Seaboard, which saw several coastal storms this past fall.

NOAA indicated that the US may shift back to neutral conditions around the start of January.