East Coast update: Wintry weekend for interior Northeast

A busy end to the week and weekend is ahead for the South and East Coast. A messy wintry mix will make for some slick roads.

A low-pressure system moving out of the Rockies today will streak across the southern Plains on Friday. It will produce snow across the southern Rockies and western high Plains today and tonight. A couple of inches are possible.

On Friday, as the system moves into the South, it will be able to tap moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen. Heavy rain will spread from the central Gulf Coast into the Southeast and South, with local 2 inches of rainfall possible. Localized flash flooding in poor drainage or urban areas is possible. A rumble of thunder cannot be ruled out.

On Saturday and Sunday, the path of this system up the East Coast will have major implications on the type of weather that will hassle weekend plans in the highly populated I-95 corridor.

Current forecasts have the system rolling up the East Coast nearly the Atlantic Seaboard. Colder air inland will support some snow and a wintry mix, while warmer air rolling off the Atlantic will keep the coastal Plains locked into a cold rain.

The line between the rain and snow looks to be just to the west of the I-95 corridor, the western and northern suburbs, and the exurbs of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. A wintry mix of snow, ice pellets, sleet, freezing rain, and rain will develop. The higher ridges of the Appalachians could receive 4 to 6 inches of snow.

New England will have even more dicey weather on Sunday. The low-pressure system will move just south of the New England Coast before departing eastward off Cape Cod. This path will keep cold air locked in place, resulting in heavy snow from the upper Hudson Valley eastward into the Boston area. Building northeasterly winds will cause snow to drift.

More than 6 inches of snow will be possible in interior southern and central New England. This could spell major travel trouble for Albany, N.Y., Hartford, Conn., and Boston.

The system will depart on Sunday night and colder but drier weather returns for early next week. However, a new winter storm will move across the Midwest and head across the East Coast Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is the latest on that storm’s potential.

Weather & Radar meteorologists will be tracking the forecast, so be sure to check back often for the latest details. Track the changes using our WeatherRadar.