The quick-moving system should bring widespread snowfall overnight Wednesday into daybreak on Thursday morning, Jan. 20. (See the first image above.)
Generally, an inch or so of accumulation is expected by sunrise.
"A light snowfall accumulation could result in snow-covered and icy roads for the Thursday morning commute," the National Weather Service said in a Hazardous Weather Outlook statement issued Wednesday. "Monitor subsequent forecasts for updates on this event."
A winter weather advisory is now in effect.
Light snow will mix with rain at times throughout the morning, and another 1 to 3 inches of new snowfall is possible by around midday Thursday in much of the region.
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with a high around 32 degrees, with the temperature falling into the upper 20s in the afternoon.
Friday, Jan. 21 will be mostly sunny and cold, with a high in the low 20s, ahead of the potential for a more significant system Friday into Saturday, Jan. 22. (Click on the second image above.)
"There will be another fresh injection of Arctic air into the Northeast late this week, and as we have seen with this last storm, that can set the stage for a significant storm to unfold," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
There remain two scenarios for the storm depending on the dip of the jet stream, Rayno said. If the jet stream dips farther inland, the chances increase for significant snowfall.
"In that case, the storm would tend to climb northward along the coast with the potential for snow or a wintry mix combination along the Interstate-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic and New England," Rayno said.
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