Winter Storm Jonas is kicking off Thursday with an initial round of snow and ice, and will turn into a major snowstorm Friday into the weekend over a large swath of the East Coast. Heavy snow is expected to fall across parts of at least 15 states, with blizzard conditions possible over parts of the Washington D.C., Baltimore and New York City metro areas. Winter Storm Jonas will also feature strong, possibly damaging winds, significant icing and coastal flooding.
As of Thursday morning, just over 73 million - or roughly one in every four Americans - were covered by either a blizzard watch, winter storm watch, winter storm warning, winter weather advisory, or freezing rain advisory from southeast Nebraska to the Carolinas to the New York City metro area.
At least 1 foot of snow likely: Eastern Kentucky into most of West Virginia, Virginia except southeast portion, most of Maryland, D.C., northern Delaware, far southern Pennsylvania and extreme northwest North Carolina. Parts of these areas may see more than 20 inches of total snowfall.
•At least 6 inches of snow likely: I-95 corridor northward through New York City/Long Island, westward into the Ohio Valley and northwest Tennessee.
•Sharp snowfall gradient: There remains considerable uncertainty regarding snow amounts on the northern edge of Jonas' snow shield from Pennsylvania to southern New England. These areas could see snowfall exceeding 6 inches, but confidence is not as high as areas just to the south.
•Ice: The highest probability of accumulating ice to the extent of not only leading to slick roads, but also some tree damage and power outages, includes parts of central and eastern Kentucky, northern South Carolina and western and central North Carolina. Lighter ice accumulation may still lead to slick roads from eastern Arkansas to southern Virginia.
