'Significant' snowstorm set to dump a foot of snow on the East Coast this weekend

  • New York and Philadelphia will see as much as six inches of snow before a changeover to sleet then rain
  • Boston will see about eight inches of snow
  • Interior suburbs north and west of the coast could see as much as 18 inches

By Ryan Gorman

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A massive snowstorm, the season's fifth, is set to dump over a foot of snow on the Northeast this weekend.

Boston, New York, Philadelphia and their suburbs are bracing themselves for the season’s biggest snowstorm as it steams up the Atlantic coast just in time to snarl weekend plans.

A nasty mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow will plague coastal sections while inland areas can expect to see more than a foot of snow.

Here it comes!: A powerful winter storm will wallop the Northeast this weekend

Here it comes!: A powerful winter storm will wallop the Northeast this weekend

The nasty weather is the child of two separate storms – an arctic cold front moving over the Great lakes, and a strong low pressure system spinning along the coastline – that are expected to collide and wreak havoc over the Northeast, forecasters said.

Known as a nor'easter, the coastal storms often cause coastal flooding and have been known to send storm surges into coastal towns.

‘This next system is really going to be a very significant storm for a lot of the country,’ Weather Channel meteorologist Carl Parker told NBC News.

‘It’s going to grab up plenty of moisture off the Atlantic, throw it back and into the Northeast,’ he added.

Tens of millions of people can expect travel to come to a halt as wintry weather grounds planes, snarls traffic and makes roads dangerous.

A large area: The storm will affect millions of people as it dumps as much as 18 inches of snow

A large area: The storm will affect millions of people as it dumps as much as 18 inches of snow

No escape: Flights will be grounded, and traffic will be backed up as snow, sleet and freezing rain bring travel to a halt

No escape: Flights will be grounded, and traffic will be backed up as snow, sleet and freezing rain bring travel to a halt

Two-day event: The storm will last into Sunday for Boston and New England, but should be mostly over by Sunday morning for New York and Philadelphia

Two-day event: The storm will last into Sunday for Boston and New England, but should be mostly over by Sunday morning for New York and Philadelphia

More on the way: People make their way across the Brooklyn Bridge during the season's first snow storm on December 10

More on the way: People make their way across the Brooklyn Bridge during the season's first snow storm on December 10

The storm is expected to start impacting New York and Philadelphia from Saturday morning until early Sunday, and should affect New England for most of Sunday.

Big cities New York and Philadelphia should expect to see about five inches of snow, Boston could see as much as 8 inches, according to forecasters.

Accumulations in New York and Philadelphia will be held down by the eventual change to rain Saturday night, said forecasters.

 

The storm will be at its height in Philadelphia during the annual Army-Navy football game, leading to a repeat of last weekend’s snowy Eagles game.

Areas to the north and west, especially northern New Jersey, the lower Hudson Valley and interior New England are expected to see about a foot of snow, but central New England  could see 18 inches or more, according to Accuweather.

An icy mixture will hit southern and coastal areas, especially in central and southern New Jersey.
The storm should be completely out of the region by Sunday night.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Bring it on!

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Those apocalyptic 'global warming' predictions are starting to sound like one big snow job.

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It's not fair MIami!

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Upstate New York just got between 5 and 6 feet of lake effects snow today.

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Now what would you do with 8 inches

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That's deep.

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Wow, DM outdo themselves with this astonishing piece of investigive journalism

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There is a Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan as well as the one in Canada. Never knew until just now there was one in Canada.

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Sault Ste. Marie was originally one settlement built by the French & straddled the St. Marys River. However, after the War of 1812, it was split into two settlements, with one on each side of the present border in both Ontario & Michigan. The border in this case being the St. Marys River.

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7or 8 more inches of frozen Global warming this weekend in Boston huh?

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Global warming makes it colder and wetter... educate yourself.

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Meanwhile....60 degrees and boring in San Francisco. I wish we had some weather come through here.

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Boring, eh? You are fortunate to live in San Francisco where the weather is so temperate. These ice and snowstorms are really treacherous and cause so many accidents. NOT fun!!

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Global warming increases evaporation of water meaning more or less rain, sleet, snow and storms etc. It's way more complex than " it's snowing outside it can't be global warming" do some real research on the topic.

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In other words, global warming explains nothing. Did you even bother to read your post?

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