It doesn’t look like winter is giving up easily.
Storms with large hail and damaging winds are smacking the Southeast on this last day of winter, according to the National Weather Service. About 20 million people are in the path of these severe storms, and the areas most at risk are parts of Tennessee, northeastern Mississippi, northern Alabama and northwest Georgia, according to CNN meteorologist Haley Brink.
The bull’s-eye of this storm is northern Alabama, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said. In a 4 p.m. press conference, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said the state is “not taking this situation lightly.”
“My team and I have been monitoring this system throughout the day,” she said. “The exact locations of where these storms will form are unpredictable.”
The area between southern Tennessee and northern Florida has a slight risk of being impacted by this storm.
The main impact of this system, Brink said, includes tornadoes, very strong, large hail and damaging winds. It’s expected to hit Monday evening and continue overnight. Tuesday will mostly see a wind threat, Ward said.
As the weather in the South clears up, the mid-Atlantic and New England will be bracing for the fourth nor’easter to hit the region in less than three weeks.
Forecast models are saying the low pressure system could move toward the coast, which would bring snow to Washington, DC, New York City, Boston, and possibly Portland, Maine, Brink said. Areas of the mid-Atlantic could see some snowfall as early as Monday night, she said, and snow is likely to keep falling Tuesday through Wednesday. Boston could get 2-4 inches of snow and 3-6 inches could fall on Washington, DC, Brink said.
However, the system’s exact path is still uncertain and should become clearer in the next 24 hours, Ward said. At this point, Ward said, the question is whether the system will continue east toward the coast or travel north. If it veers north, there will be significant snow in New England, but if it goes eastward, it’ll mean less snow for the region.
New England is still reeling from last week’s storm, which the weather service declared a blizzard. Before that, a storm dropped heavy, wet snow in areas west of Interstate 95 and left one person dead in New York state.
On March 2, a nor’easter that morphed into a “bomb cyclone” slammed much of the Northeast with heavy snow and rain, hurricane-force wind gusts and significant coastal flooding. The storm left six people dead from falling trees, and about 900,000 customers lost power.
Nor’easters aren’t uncommon for New England during this time of year, CNN meteorologist Jenn Varian said. They can occur any time of year, but they’re strongest from September to April.
