Powerhouse snowstorm to wallop the East

John Desjardins, Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
Feb. 5, 2010 3:02 am ET

Another round of snow and ice is in store for the eastern part of the country as a moisture-rich storm system tracks northward from the Gulf of Mexico.

Overnight, a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain will overspread the southern Appalachians from western North Carolina into southwest Virginia.

Isolated power outages are possible with some ice accumulating on trees and power lines.

To the east, heavy rain stretching from the Tidewater area of Virginia through the eastern Carolinas could result in spotty flooding.

But the main event with this storm will be heavy snow in the Mid-Atlantic States. Snow will begin in the Washington area during the afternoon and spread northward towards Philadelphia by evening.

Heavy snow will continue into Saturday before winding down by evening. Travel will be hazardous, especially tonight and Saturday.

By the time the storm ends, many areas in northern Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and southern Pennsylvania will have over a foot of snow. Some places may end up with over two feet of snow from this storm.

As the low pushes off the coast, it will strengthen quickly and produce very strong winds, especially along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Gusts over 45 mph are possible from southern New Jersey to the Norfolk area Friday night and Saturday morning.

Blizzard warnings are in effect for southeastern areas of New Jersey as well as much of Delaware.

It is also worth mentioning that this storm will spread snow as far west as the Ohio Valley.

Winter storm warnings are in effect into Indiana. A swath of six-inch snowfall could fall from central Indiana into southwestern Pennsylvania.

(As the North East gets pounded as the winter storm approaches you all can use Al Gore's Book to throw into the fireplace to keep yourselves warm)