State College, Pa. — AccuWeather.com – A large storm will sweep from southwest to northeast across the eastern part of the nation through Thursday. While snow will change to rain quickly along the Interstate 95 corridor, up to a foot of snow will fall over northern New England and the St. Lawrence Valley. A second storm will sweep through the Midwest and mid-Atlantic Friday into Sunday.

A coating to as much of 6 inches of snow will fall around the Great Lakes, central New York state and central New England into Thursday. The steadiest snow will fall over the Great Lakes tonight. In most eastern interior areas, except for the northern tier, the snow will change to a wintry mix.

The snow and wintry mix covering roadways will make travel treacherous over northern parts of New York and New England, as well as neighboring parts of Canada. Any slushy accumulations farther south will melt on the roads this afternoon.

A surge of warm air in the East preceding the storm will prevent a crippling snow event over much of the heavily populated parts of the Northeast. However, rain and fog could also slow travel during the afternoon and evening. Some areas in the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic may also get a rare February thunderstorm tonight.

Regardless of whether snow or rain falls, commuters across the Interstate 95 corridor should be prepared for slow travel on the highways and flight delays at the airports.

Windy conditions beginning later today could make the airports in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston susceptible to delays.

Winds from the west and northwest tonight and Thursday will cause more problems in the Midwest and the Northeast.

For information on the gusty winds set to whip through the Northeast on Thursday in the storm’s wake, check out the Midwest Regional News story.

A period of rain will also pass over Detroit and Chicago today. The rain could end as wet snow, but any accumulations would be limited to non-paved surfaces. The arrival of colder air tonight, however, could lead to wet spots becoming icy.

The storm now affecting the East began pounding California Sunday into Monday with heavy mountain snow and flooding rain. The next system to affect the Midwest to the Northeast will originate from Canada.

An Alberta Clipper is forecast to dive into the northern Plains on Friday then spread its snow over the Midwest and Northeast this weekend.

The clipper will be closely monitored the next several days since the potential exists for a secondary area of low pressure to develop along its cold front. After taking shape across the Gulf Coast, that low could race up the Eastern Seaboard with substantial snow.

Even if the secondary storm fails to develop, a moderate snowfall seems likely for a populated area of the Midwest Friday into Saturday and is a possibility for the East Saturday into Sunday.

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