Another Major Winter Storm Is Expected Just Days After Gia

Meteorologists expect two more storms to hit the Midwest and Northeast starting Wednesday, just days after Winter Storm Gia dumped more than a foot of snow over much of the same area.

Winter Storm Gia swept through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. Jan. 11-13, causing around 500 vehicle accidents in Missouri alone. The storm was a factor in at least 13 deaths and knocked out power to tens of thousands. Several state and local governments, including South Carolina and Virginia, declared states of emergency, The Weather Channel reports.

The next storm, expected Wednesday night through Friday, will likely carry light to moderate snowfall from the upper-Midwest through the Northeast. An icy mix of snow and sleet is expected to drop along areas under the storm’s southern stretch.

The weaker of two winter storms will spread a swath of snow and wintry mix from the Midwest to parts of the Ohio Valley and Northeast from Wednesday night into Friday before the second brings heavier wintry precipitation to the region this weekend: https://t.co/WDlg7diQGO pic.twitter.com/9GA5IkQL2s

— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) January 16, 2019

“Fast movement of the storm from Thursday to Friday should limit the accumulations to a few inches in the snowfall area,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

Meteorologists expect a second, larger winter storm to track a similar path from Friday to Sunday night potentially dumping more than a foot of snow along a stretch starting in Illinois, heading through New York and up to Maine.

#WinterStormHarper will be a major #snowstorm in the Midwest and Northeast Friday into the weekend, snarling road and air travel. Our latest comprehensive forecast, including potential travel impacts: https://t.co/PwDAAL2K3n pic.twitter.com/7cOIZJpD5e

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) January 16, 2019

“Cold air in the wake of the storm on Thursday and Friday, combined with extensive snowcover, may cause the storm that follows to track farther south than our indicators suggest,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.

“It’s possible the storm this weekend may not cut toward the Great Lakes as suggested by computer models but may instead take more of a west-to-east track, similar to last weekend’s storm, but a bit farther north,” Pastelok added.