Winter Storm Janus Forecast: Midwest Disturbance to Become Wind-Driven Northeast Snowstorm
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The Weather Channel has named Winter Storm Janus, the 10th named storm of the 2013-14 winter storm season. Janus will bring a short but potentially disruptive burst of snow to the heavily populated and traveled I-95 corridor from Virginia to New England Tuesday through early Wednesday.
Janus originated as a weak area of low pressure developing along a powerful arctic cold front as it began surging south into the U.S. early Monday.
This low will zip southeast and then eastward along that front as it barrels farther south, intensifying significantly as it moves east of the Appalachians and eventually off the Atlantic coast Tuesday. With very strong high pressure and bitterly cold arctic air building in from the north, the stage will be set for this low-pressure center to blitz the Northeast Megalopolis with snow and blustery winds.
Current Radar
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Monday Night
Monday Night: Midwest, Ohio Valley
A relatively compact area of light snow over Iowa and northern Illinois early Monday evening will rapidly zip eastward through the Ohio Valley Monday night.
(MORE: Minute-by-Minute Updates)
Amounts will generally be light, but lake enhancement will bring a few inches of fluff to the Chicago area, and snowfall will start to increase as the system reaches eastern parts of the Ohio Valley and into the mountains of West Virginia during the pre-dawn hours Tuesday.
With warm temperatures Monday and plunging temperatures during the snow Monday night, the stage is set not only for snow-covered roads, but patches of ice as well, as some of the snow may melt before colder temperatures refreeze it. Secondary roads and minor city streets will of course be more vulnerable to this than the well-treated major highways.
The cold blast behind this system could bring significant lake-effect snowfall to the Chicago lakeshore as well as northwest Indiana and southwest Lower Michigan Monday night into Tuesday. Lake-effect snow warnings have been posted for this area.
Tuesday
Tuesday Night
Current Winter Alerts
Tuesday and Wednesday: Mid-Atlantic, Northeast
The low-pressure center associated with Winter Storm Janus should reach Virginia and North Carolina by midday Tuesday. This low pressure will quickly move off the Mid-Atlantic coast in the afternoon before making a left hook and quickly intensifying into a major coastal storm, moving northeastward parallel to the coast of the Northeast and New England Tuesday night and Wednesday.
As the low strengthens and a strong area of very cold arctic high pressure builds in right behind it, the stage will be set for a significant winter storm with snow, wind, and falling temperatures along the I-95 corridor.
Snow will spread east of the Appalachians into the D.C.-Philadelphia corridor Tuesday morning, though the heaviest snowfall rates may hold off until just after the morning commute. Snow will then quickly zip northeast into New York City, Boston, and points in between during the midday and afternoon hours. The worst conditions will affect D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia in the afternoon and evening hours, and the New York-Boston corridor in the evening and overnight hours Tuesday night.
Snow will also march all the way to the coast with this storm, affecting Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and New Jersey with accumulating snow, peaking in the Tuesday afternoon to Tuesday night time frame.
(FORECAST: Dover, Del. | Atlantic City, N.J.)
Blustery winds will add to the winter woes from this storm. Northerly winds of 15 to 30 mph will be common across the Mid-Atlantic and coastal Northeast with this storm. As temperatures fall through the 20s and into the teens in some areas, the snow will become increasingly powdery – and increasingly easy to blow around. Blowing and drifting snow could complicate efforts to keep roads clear in some areas.
Winter storm warnings and watches have been posted for much of this region for Tuesday and Tuesday night, including areas as far south as Richmond, Va.
Snowfall Forecast
Snowfall should quickly wind down south of New York City Tuesday evening and Tuesday night. Meanwhile, coastal New England can expect the snow to continue into Wednesday morning. The last of the snow will wind down over Maine Wednesday afternoon and evening.
(FORECAST: Portland, Maine)
Total snow accumulations will likely exceed 5 inches – and in a few cases could top 10 inches – along portions of the I-95 corridor from northern Virginia all the way to Providence, R.I. Because of the low's track taking snow all the way to the coast, the familiar pattern of heavier snow in the northern and western suburbs of the Megalopolis may not hold true this time.
Not only will temperatures plunge during Winter Storm Janus, but the cold air – and the snow on the ground – will stick around for a while, as highs stay below freezing across the entire Northeast for the rest of the workweek.
(FORECAST: Arctic Blast, Bitterly Cold Temperatures Ahead)
The name "Janus" comes from the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology. Appropriately, Winter Storm Janus is occurring in January, the month named for the Roman god Janus.
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The Chicago skyline and a freezing Lake Michigan are seen from the Museum Campus in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014..
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