Northeast Snow

Heavy snow this morning greeting travelers and commuters in Philadelphia.

11am UPDATE: Snow has started in Montreal, and radar is showing decent returns southwest of the city along the 20 and 401 towards Cornwall. A special weather statement is in effect for gusty winds and bursts of heavy snow across Eastern Ontario into the afternoon. The snow will also continue well into the late afternoon in Montreal. Look for a good 5cm of snow by the evening rush hour.

A persistent snow event will be getting underway shortly in Montreal as it has across much of eastern Ontario and the northeast US this morning. Radar is showing the snow just west of the Ontario/Quebec border at 8am. A very slow moving upper low along with an elongated trough of low pressure extending across New York State will be the focus for steady light snow well into Saturday as it moves east towards the coast. This morning the steady snow is falling across Ontario from the GTA towards Ottawa and especially along the 401 from Brockville to Kingston. In this region near zero visibility has been observed in bursts of heavier snow along with gusty winds. Along the St. Lawrence Valley on the US side and south across the Adirondacks towards the middle Atlantic, Winter Weather Advisories are in effect. Look for 10-20cm of snow in the advisory area with 5-10cm outside of the warning area including metro Montreal. Winds will be gusty out of the northeast with blowing snow and making the -4C feel quite a bit colder. The light snow will taper to flurries by Sunday.

If you think light snow does not cause problems, last night accidents on Highway 15 north of Montreal produced 2 hour traffic jams to reach the north shore and parts of . This morning the snow has already forced ground stops at Newark and in Philadelphia with 60 minute delays at Detroit, Washington, JFK and La Guardia.

By the end of the weekend cold arctic air will begin to mix with Gulf moisture, increasing the threat for and ice storm across the deep south. I will post more on that scenario as the weekend moves along.