Major Blizzard Warning Includes Delaware Coast as Massive Storm Approaches

The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings for coastal Delaware communities along with New York City and New Jersey as a powerful late-winter storm approaches Sunday. The storm could dump 1 to 2 feet of snow with dangerous winds, making travel extremely hazardous across the region.

A powerful late-winter storm heading toward the East Coast on Sunday has prompted meteorologists to issue blizzard warnings for coastal Delaware communities, along with New York City, New Jersey, and southern Connecticut.

Weather forecasters have upgraded their predictions for what they initially expected to be a less severe storm just days ago. The National Weather Service now anticipates snowfall totals of 1 to 2 feet across much of the warning area, which encompasses New York City, Long Island, southern Connecticut, and coastal areas of New Jersey and Delaware. Forecasters also warn that flooding could occur in portions of New York and New Jersey.

“While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center.

According to Snell, the storm system will begin impacting the Washington, D.C. area Sunday morning before moving through Philadelphia and New York City, eventually reaching Boston by late Monday evening.

Meteorologists expect the storm to start as rain in some locations before conditions deteriorate. The most intense snowfall is forecast for Sunday night, with accumulation rates potentially reaching 2 inches per hour in certain areas before conditions improve by Monday afternoon.

The weather service cautioned that sustained winds between 25 and 35 mph accompanying the storm will “make travel dangerous, if not impossible. Scattered downed tree limbs and power outages possible due to snow load and strong winds.”

This storm system arrives as communities are still recovering from ice and snow left behind by another winter storm that hit the region several weeks ago.

Atlantic City, New Jersey officials issued warnings Saturday, advising residents and casino patrons to avoid traveling during the storm, particularly in flood-prone, low-elevation areas.

“I could go on and on probably with a good two dozen streets where we know we will get water and there will be snow on top of that,” said Scott Evans, the city’s fire chief and emergency management coordinator. “So you won’t be able to see it until it’s too late, so therefore please stay at home.”