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Snowstorm Pummels Portions Of Mid-Atlantic

January 13, 2019 at 08:34 PM EST
UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Rebecca Huff
Snowfall Forecast Through This Evening
The first major snowstorm of 2019 is ongoing across the Mid-Atlantic. Several inches of new snow are expected across portions of Maryland and Virginia tonight as heavier snow bands wrap up the storm event.

The cause of this wintry trouble started with a low-pressure system moving across from the Front Range, which then slid into the Ohio Valley. As the system gathered Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean moisture and interacted with a cold arctic Canadian airmass, widespread snow broke out from St. Louis, Mo., to Cincinnati on Saturday.  This same system is now pushing east across the Mid-Atlantic and continues to bring heavy snowfall across northern Virginia and Maryland. Residents in eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey may see scattered snow showers with minor accumulations.  

Widespread Winter Storm Warnings stretch from Eastern West Virginia, along the Blue Ridge in western Virginia to Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey, including the cities of Baltimore, Washington D.C., Dover, Del., Richmond and Roanoke, Va. Total snowfall amounts of 8 to 14 inches will be common across these locations, with locally higher amounts. Winter Weather Advisories across south-central Pennsylvania and portions of Virginia may see slightly lower amounts of 2 to 5 inches, including the cities of Harrisburg, Pa., and Richmond, Va. 

This wintry weather across the Mid-Atlantic will cause travel headaches on untreated, snow covered roadways. Luckily, it’s a weekend, but still use extreme caution when traveling on roadways and braking at intersections when out and about.

Portions of the Midwest and Middle Mississippi Valley were hit hard from this expansive snowstorm on Friday evening and on Saturday. Montgomery City, Mo., accumulated the highest snowfall totals with 20 inches of snow. Further east, St. Louis received 10 to 13 inches of snow, much of Illinois received 8 to 13 inches of snow. Even the Windy City received a little more than 6 inches of snow, due with the northeast winds off Lake Michigan enhancing the snowfall across the city.