(CNN) — The winter storm is on a collision course with the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States on Saturday, and a stronger one is hot on its heels.
The first storm will dump up to a foot of snow and significant ice by Sunday and could cause travel disruptions for millions of people currently under winter storm warnings.
Transportation crews began preparing the region’s roads on Friday.
In central and northern Pennsylvania, where up to 6 inches of snow is forecast, transportation crews treated roads and were committed to “keeping roads passable, not completely clear of snow and ice.” According to a statement from the Department of Transport. Pennsylvania Transportation.
Parts of Pennsylvania, parts of Appalachia, and parts of the Northeast and interior New England, including west of Boston, will bear the brunt of the storm.
Major disruptions are less likely in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York and Washington. The track of the storm and insufficiently cold air reduce the chances of snow.
But other cities, especially in New England, are more prone to snow. Several inches of snow were forecast for Boston. It may not be on par with past snowfalls, but it may still be February 25, 2022, when 8 inches fell in a single storm for the city’s heaviest snowfall.
And if the forecast in Hartford, Connecticut holds true, it will be the city’s biggest snowstorm since February 1, 2021, when 11 inches fell.
Boston crews also prepared streets, which were expected to remain open. They keep drivers and up to 800 pieces of equipment on standby if needed.
“Our goal will be to keep the streets clear and passable at the peak of the storm,” Boston Chief Street Officer Jascha Franklin-Hodge said at a news conference Friday.
“In general, though, when there’s this kind of weather, we ask people to be careful, that if they’re going out they drive carefully.”
A more powerful and dangerous storm
Another larger and more powerful storm will follow the first by mid-week with all the possible hazards: snow, ice, strong winds, tornadoes and torrential rain.
It will begin to strengthen rapidly on Monday as it moves across the central US toward the Great Lakes, bringing snow and possible sleet to colder northern areas along its path.
The exact location and amount of snow will vary depending on the storm’s track, which is still uncertain, but the Northeast Plains, Great Lakes, Midwest, and Interior areas have the greatest chances of heavy snowfall.
The storm will take advantage of warmer, more humid air southward from the Gulf of Mexico, increasing the risk of severe storms, including some strong tornadoes and damaging winds and flooding near the Gulf Coast. The risk of strong storms will be highest in southern parts of the Southeast, including Florida, on Monday and Tuesday.
As the storm moves northeast, rain and strong gusts of wind will spread across much of the eastern US flooding and power outages will be a major concern.
Widespread heavy rain will fall on areas that have just been soaked and snowed by the first storm.
Heavy rain alone can cause flooding, but rain on snow increases the risk, because warm rain melts the snow and quickly injects its water into the watershed.
The same devastating story played out in December, when a powerful storm caused deadly flooding in parts of inland New England after its rain melted snow.
CNN’s Amy Simmons contributed to this report.
