The first winter storm of 2014 didn’t wait long before sweeping into the midwest and northeast areas of the United States.
The storm, named Hercules, is predicted to hit between Wednesday and Friday, according to USA Today, with the heaviest impacts in New England on Thursday and Friday. The storm could produce blizzard conditions at times throughout the New England states.
“Over a foot of snow will fall in localized areas of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut and the cities of Hartford, Conn., Providence, R.I., and Boston,” said Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather meteorologist.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City will also be impacted with snow amounts ranging from 6 to 12 inches.
Chicago could see 6 to 8 inches as well, resulting from lake-effect snow boosts.
Lighter amounts of one to four inches are expected in areas around Kansas, Nebraska, and the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile in Kentucky and Tennessee, accumulation of one inch are also possible.
RT @mikeseidel: How about this for the impact from #Hercules: 39 million under WARNINGS & 103 million under WATCH/WARNING or an ADVISORY
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) January 2, 2014
Hercules is an interesting storm in that the snowfall rates may not get high during the storm itself but the snowfall will continue for 24 to 30 hours, keeping road crews on their toes.
Snowfall will eventually wind down on Friday as the system moves out to sea, but not before it brings temperatures in parts of New England close to record lows.
“It’s going to be right around freezing on Thursday but that’s going to feel mild compared with Friday,” Mark Paquette, AccuWeather meteorologist, said.
The wind gusts could range from 15 to 30 miles an hour and will make it feel like below zero at times. “You get the snow, then you get the cold and the wind, making it really miserable,” Paquette said.
The next possible winter storm after Hercules could move through the Great Lakes and Northeast on Sunday into Monday. If the next system is named, it will be called Ion.
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