Timing the Travel-Disrupting Snow in the East

The East Coast of the United States can turn very stormy this time of yearbecause of the large temperature differences that often exist. The air over theGulf Stream is quite mild, while the air over the continent can be very cold.This creates a huge weight imbalance in the atmosphere, which is what drivesthe circulation of an intensifying coastal storm.

Today, a storm of this nature is tracking up the East Coast. It will not be aparticularly intense system, but it will be big enough to cause a large-scaleprecipitation event. A moderate snowfall will spread from western NorthCarolina and Virginia to New England later during the day into the night.

Want to know when the snow will begin? Rain will change over to snow in bigcities like Philadelphia and New York City around noon or 1 in the afternoon.

Folks in Concord, N.H., to Portland and Bangor, Maine, can look for the snow tobegin at dinnertime. Downeast Maine may have to wait until 10 p.m.