Blizzard warnings are issued as a winter storm explodes in the mid-Atlantic northeast

ERIE, Pa. — Another winter storm has left millions of people from the Upper Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast facing heavy snow and blizzard conditions in areas that were just hit by a lake-effect blizzard that buried cities in meters of snow.

The storm could even bring some rainfall to the busy Interstate 95 corridor.

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This image shows a life-threatening snow squall west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

(@NWSWPC/X)

Snow squall warnings were issued for heavier snow showers in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Wednesday morning, warning people of the life-threatening situation with sudden whiteout conditions and blowing snow likely.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) shared a dramatic photo west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, showing snowfall blinding parts of far eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

NWS forecasters in western Wisconsin warned of a sudden freeze Wednesday afternoon as the approaching Arctic front quickly drops temperatures below freezing with wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph or more. In Rochester, Minnesota, the temperature dropped from 36 to 27 in two hours while winds reached gusty speeds of 62 miles per hour.

Winter weather warnings stretch from North Dakota to Maine, including blizzard warnings issued in parts of West Virginia and Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic due to the threat of snow and strong winds leading to whiteout conditions, making travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening makes -threatening.

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However, isolated snow squalls are possible across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Wednesday, with widespread wind gusts reaching speeds of 40 to 50 mph, bringing the risk of blizzard or whiteout conditions.

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The storm will shift heavy snow and strong winds to the northeast on Thursday

The clipper system will move through the Northeast on Thursday, shifting heavy snowfall to the eastern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

“This wind is coming directly from Canada and is pulling the cold air down harder – one of the reasons why so many people in the eastern part of the country are dealing with below-average temperatures,” FOX weather meteorologist Ian Oliver said. “This also keeps the lake effect snow machine running. So December starts with a bang.”

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Winter storm and lake effect snow warnings are back in effect starting late Wednesday as another 7 to 12 inches of snow, with isolated higher amounts, is likely on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The 90 to 150 meters of lake snow that has accumulated in these areas has been dug out since Friday.

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Heavy snowfall is also expected across inland New England and Maine due to moisture associated with the storm center as it moves across this region on Thursday.

Lighter but increasing snowfall is expected in lower elevations in northern New York State and western and northern Pennsylvania.

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While strong winds didn’t play a major role in the previous lake-effect snowstorm, this time strong winds will blow across the Northeast as the strong low pressure center pushes over the region.

Widespread gusts of 40-50 mph are expected, creating blizzard-like conditions along lake-effect snow belts.

In total, more than 77 million people from the Dakotas to Massachusetts, including cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington and New York City, are covered by wind advisories.

Wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour could occur in the Minneapolis area, while tropical storm-force wind gusts could also blow up Cape Cod and Nantucket in Massachusetts.

Will it snow along the I-95 corridor?

Depending on the timing of Thursday’s storm, some areas along the I-95 corridor could see at least some wet snow or a rain/snow mix.

Neither New York, Philadelphia nor Boston have reported any measurable snow in the weather books so far this season. However, Central Park reported the first “trace” of snow on Tuesday.

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For the I-95 corridor as a whole, this storm is not expected to bring large snow accumulations, but the strong winds could still trigger sporadic power outages.