Nor'easter To Bring Heavy Snow, Rain, High Winds, Coastal Flooding To East Coast

By  Jonathan Erdman, Chris Dolce The Weather Channel

H​ere’s a look at where the storm is now and what’s to come.

Sage’s latest status: Snow is now spreading into the interior Northeast and tapering off in the Great Lakes. Rainfall has also spread into New England, particularly along the coast.

W​inter weather alerts are in effect for parts of multiple states: The National Weather Service has issued w​inter storm warnings, winter storm watches and winter weather advisories for much of New York (not including New York City) as well as for central and southern New England and northeast Pennsylvania.

T​iming The Storm

Tuesday: Snow, heavy at times, will fall in most of New England and New York. Rain will mix with snow and then change to all snow in southern and coastal parts of New England, including Boston. Strong winds are expected, particularly in coastal New England, but also in much of the Northeast.

Wednesday: Snow showers will end by afternoon. However, strong north to northwest winds could linger in New England and parts of the mid-Atlantic much of the day before winding down at night.

F​orecast Impacts

Here’s how much snowfall to expect: The most probable area for heavy snow is from parts of New England into upstate and central New York state and northeastern Pennsylvania. Snowfall amounts will drop dramatically as you near the immediate Interstate 95 corridor from downtown Boston to Providence and Hartford, where at least some rain is expected.

H​igher elevations will see the most snow with 1 to 2 feet expected in some areas.

Winds could be damaging or might knock out power: Tuesday, wind gusts up to 60 mph are most likely along coastal and southeast New England, including Boston. In these areas, power outages and at least some tree damage is possible.

Tuesday into Wednesday, much of the rest of the Northeast could see wind gusts up to 45 mph, at times. Those gusts, combined with the weight of heavy, wet snow, could lead to some tree damage and power outages in areas of significant snow accumulation, especially in the interior Northeast.

(This index, from NOAA’s National Weather Service, attempts to scale the impacts from winter weather, taking into account factors such as snowfall, accumulated snow on rooftops, ice accumulation, the potential for a flash freeze, and blowing snow. Not all factors are in play in a given winter storm. )

Coastal flooding is a concern at times of high tide: The onshore winds could lead to some coastal flooding at times of high tide along the Eastern Seaboard.

M​inor to locally moderate coastal flooding is anticipated in most areas.

E​arly Tuesday morning will have the peak coastal flooding near parts Long Island and southern Connecticut. Coastal flooding in parts of eastern New England could occur with the Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning high tides.

S​age Might Become A “Bomb Cyclone”

S​age could become a bomb cyclone as it strengthens near the Eastern Seaboard into early Wednesday.

That means its central pressure could drop by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours or less, signaling an intense, potentially damaging storm.

S​age’s Recap So Far

Sage entered the West Coast March 9-10 and pummeled California with a strong atmospheric river of moisture.

The storm’s heavy rain in combination with melting snow caused serious flooding in lower elevations as heavy snow piled up in the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Up to 40 inches of snow was estimated in the highest elevations of the southern Sierra Nevada.

Snow and gusty winds from the storm then spread across the Northern Plains, upper Midwest and Great Lakes March 11-12.

Blizzard conditions caused whiteout conditions across nearly all of North Dakota on March 11. Numerous roadways across the state, including Interstate 94, were closed.

The storm dumped from 12 to 20 inches of snow around the Duluth-Superior Twin Ports area of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.

Estimated snow from Sage for the 72-hour period ending March 13, 2023.

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