The US has been plagued by wintry conditions in recent weeks, with heavy snowfall, icy roads and below freezing temperatures. Some 200 million Americans have been impacted by the cold snap; with near-instant frostbite in Minnesota, train tracks set on fire to defrost in Chicago and rare phenomena known as frost quakes.
Now this coming week, two storms will bring snow, ice and rain across the Midwest to the northeastern United States.
The storms will create enough wintry precipitation to cause icy and slippery roads, school delays and cancellations and the need for the deicing of aircraft.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jack Boston said: “A stormy pattern with chilly air will continue for the Pacific states and into the Southwest through the middle of next week and beyond.”
According to Accuweather, one or both of the two storms lined up will hit the major airport hubs of Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
Read More: USA weather MAPPED: MILLIONS under winter alert – More snow to come
One storm will originate from the northwestern U.S., and the other will travel up from the Gulf of Mexico.
The first storm is predicted to be disorganised but will cause issues for commuters.
On Saturday night, three to six inches of snow piled up in areas of eastern Nebraska and much of Iowa leading to treacherous conditions on Interstate 80.
Throughout Sunday, snow will travel eastward through the Great Lakes and into Pennsylvania.
There will also likely be an icy or wintry mix focused from near the Ohio River to I-70.
Impacting along Virginia’s I-81 corridor on Sunday will be a period of freezing rain.
This mix of rain, snow and ice will extend along areas of West Virginia, Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and around New York City from Sunday afternoon into Sunday night local time.
Overnight on Sunday, some snow will push towards northern Pennsylvania and into southern and central New England.
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said: “There can be locally higher snow totals of 3-6 inches from near the I-90 corridor of New York State to the mountains of central New England.”
The second storm will bring areas of heavy snow, ice and rain – approaching from the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and will track along or just west of the Appalachians on Wednesday.
As well as snow, heavy rain is expected to fall along lower parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio Valleys, the southern Appalachians and the lower part of the mid-Atlantic.
This could be enough rain to trigger flooding, but as the storm meets colder air in the north, snow and ice are likely.