After days of frigid temperatures, the Northeast braced for a whopper of a storm that could dump well over a foot of snow in many areas, create blizzard-like conditions and cause travel problems for the next few days.
The storm system blanketed parts of the Midwest in the most snow some places had seen in several years. Chicago got almost 7 inches of snow by Sunday morning, leading to the cancellation of a couple hundred flights at the city’s two airports. In Wisconsin, snow depths in some counties near Lake Michigan had reached more than 15 inches, and the snow was still falling.
All of us at @weatherchannel are going overtime for you this Sunday as we track Winter Storm #Orlena - we'll let you know what you can expect into the week across the Northeast. I'll see you from 5-9p eastern ❄️ pic.twitter.com/3pKmBss05j
— Alexandra Wilson (@TWCAlexWilson) January 31, 2021
“That’s more snow than we’ve seen in a decade,” Chris Stumpf, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wis., told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Three to 5 inches of snow arrived in central Ohio by early Sunday, making for some slippery roads. Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia had also received some snow, with up to 3 inches in some areas. By the afternoon, the snow was expected to reach Pennsylvania.
Heavy snow falling at an inch to 3 inches an hour was forecast for Monday in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the National Weather Service said. Much of the region could see blizzard-like conditions, with a foot to 18 inches of snow.
A winter storm over the Ohio Valley will weaken overnight as a Nor'Easter forms and slowly shifts north just off the East Coast. Widespread heavy snow of a foot or greater is forecast from Pennsylvania into New England through Tuesday. Snowfall rates may reach 2”/hr. pic.twitter.com/5zQM3w51WB
— National Weather Service (@NWS) January 31, 2021
Temperatures were expected to be in the upper 20s to lower 30s for the New York City metro area.
The snow was expected to start falling in Massachusetts on Monday morning, bringing up to a foot of snow to impact the evening commute. The storm will reach northern New England later that night, meteorologists said.
Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect across the Northeast as snow and ice began breaking out across the region Sunday: https://t.co/YCWGmXN4jM pic.twitter.com/57SotQd1Ux
— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) January 31, 2021
Winds strong enough to bring down tree branches with gusts ranging from 35 to 50 mph were forecast for the storm.
