ARLINGTON, Va. — Heavy rains across a wide swath of the East that were expected to turn to sleet and snow as temperatures dropped precipitously brought warnings of travel havoc to the weather-battered region.
Winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect for about 60 million Americans. Major cities from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore to Philadelphia, New York City and southern New England were bracing for a fast moving but potentially dangerous blast of wintry weather. Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Nashville, as well as a host of cities in North Carolina including Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville, were all threatened.
Outside Washington, the Arlington and sprawling Fairfax County school districts in Virginia were among schools to close, even as temperatures lingered in the 40s early Thursday.
"We are expecting colder air to arrive right around the morning commute, quickly changing rain to snow," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter said. "There are indications that it could snow quite heavily as this occurs."
That could mean dangerous travel conditions and catch "unprepared motorists off guard," Porter said.
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Parts of New Jersey were under a winter weather advisory. Between 1 and 3 inches of snow was expected to end by Thursday afternoon.
"We’re not expecting a particularly heavy snow," said Dominic Ramunni, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, "but given the timing of it, it could be a nuisance, especially for commuters."
Ice and snow as far south as North Carolina could result in localized slick roads Thursday night, the National Weather Service warned.
"Black ice is possible area-wide Thursday night and early Friday morning as cold air pours into central NC," the weather service said in its briefing.
A wintry mix was expected from the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England, the weather service said. Waves of low pressure tracking east along this front will likely bring areas of heavy snow and significant ice from south Texas into the Carolinas on Thursday night into Saturday morning, the agency warned.
The storm is the latest in a series of dangerous winter weather fronts to sweep across the region. Over the holiday weekend, a storm dropped more than foot of snow across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, with heavy snowfall totals recorded as far south as Mississippi. Strong thunderstorms and heavy winds added to the weather havoc.
Earlier this month, a storm pounded the Mid-Atlantic region with up to a foot of snow, closing schools for a week in some districts.
Contributing: Nicholas Katzban, NorthJersey.com; The Associated Press
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