Significant Weather Blog: Thursday, January 22, 2026 6 PM

Major Winter Storm Likely for All of Southern New England

Same Storm System Will Impact Much of Eastern United States with Snow and Ice

Heavy snow will likely impact all of southern New England Sunday afternoon and night with lingering accumulating snow into or through Monday.  This same storm will leave very broad swaths of heavy snow and/or damaging ice across a large portion of the country from Texas and Oklahoma through the lower to mid Mississippi Valley to the mid Atlantic and Northeast regions.  Ahead of the storm will be the coldest temperatures of the season behind an arctic cold front that passes through Friday night.  Will then look at the storm potential for southern New England followed by a brief overview of impacts elsewhere.

Extraordinary Cold Temperatures this Weekend

A piece of the polar vortex will break off and traverse Ontario and southern Quebec this weekend and unleash an arctic air mass into our region.  Temperatures will plummet to around zero to 5 above late Friday night.  Temperatures will struggle to go beyond 10 to 15 degrees Saturday.  Combined with strong northwest wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph, expect wind chills to 15 below zero except likely to 25 below zero over the higher terrain (especially in the Berkshires where an Extreme Cold Warning has been issued by the National Weather Service).  Cold temperatures will persist into at least early next week.

Major Winter Storm Likely Sunday into Monday for All of Southern New England

The various computer models have converged on a surface low track that passes near the 40N latitude and 70W longitude “benchmark.”  This is not expected to be a bombogenesis event with very low central pressures and very high winds.  However, this looks to be an ideal set up for overrunning snow as Gulf moisture overrides an antecedent arctic air mass along with some assistance from jet dynamics.  For those familiar with the terms, there will likely be a cold conveyor belt of moist easterly winds in the low to mid-levels and a very robust warm moist southerly conveyor belt at mid to high levels.  The highest snow rates (probably at least 1 to 2 inches per hour) are expected Sunday afternoon and night.  Due to a fairly robust trailing short wave upper trough embedded in the northern jet stream, bands of light to moderate snow may persist through most of the day Monday and add to the accumulation.  At the surface, the low pressure center may take on an elongated east-west configuration or perhaps exhibit an inverted trough to the west on Monday due to the interaction with the approaching upper-level trough.  The result would be continued low level moisture convergence in addition to upward motion induced by the upper-level dynamics with at least bands of snow persisting through much of Monday.

With the antecedent cold arctic air in place, the precipitation should be in the form of snow.  A possible exception could be the New England south coast including the Cape and Islands where a warm layer aloft could cause the snow to mix with or change to sleet but not until substantial snow falls.  High snow to liquid ratios may help to increase accumulations (i.e., fluff factor) especially over interior southern New England.  There will likely be some mesoscale banding which could feature locally enhanced snowfall rates, but these are not possible to identify this far out.

Timing:  Although there are some timing differences in the models, light snow will likely start during Sunday morning and become heavy in most areas by early afternoon.  The snow may not totally taper off until late Monday afternoon in western sections and Monday evening in eastern sections.

Amounts:  Since the event is still 3 days away, it’s still a little premature to be too specific with amounts.  Nevertheless, to give an idea of the scale of this storm, anticipate the potential for widespread 10 to 15 inches across southern New England with a pocket or two of 15 to 20 inches possible.  Sleet could reduce accumulations a little over the immediate south coast including the Cape and Islands but even there 8 or more inches are likely.

Impact:  This storm will have major ground and air travel impacts across southern New England Sunday into if not through Monday.  People are encouraged to adjust plans as necessary.

Large Winter Storm Will Impact Much of the Eastern United States this Weekend

A feature of this storm will be its scope with impacts from Texas and Oklahoma through the mid-South, entire Appalachian chain, Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic region, and the Northeast as a surface low pressure system traverses along a boundary between arctic air to the north and tropical moist air to the south.  Across OK, eastern KS, MO, northern AR, KY, OH, northern VA, WVA, MD, DL, PA, NJ, NY, and New England heavy snow will likely be the main concern.  Further south, damaging ice will be a concern and likely include portions of TX, southern AR, LA, MS, northern AL, TN, northern GA, SC, NC, and southern VA.  There could be some shifting north or south of the heavy snow and damaging ice areas due to variations in the projected storm track.

This storm will likely produce heavy snow all along the I-95 corridor from Washington, DC to New York City to Boston.  Sleet and freezing rain may mix with the snow in the Washington DC area but still expect over 6 inches accumulation.  Some sleet could mix with the snow as far north as NYC but still looks like over 8 inches there.

The overriding message is that this storm will have a very broad impact across much of the eastern United States this weekend into early next week.  Very widespread ground and air travel delays should be expected.  This storm will likely produce a large swath of damaging ice and resulting power outages (including portions of the South from TX through LA, MS, northern AL, TN, and on into northern GA and the Carolinas).

Next Message

 Will continue to monitor this developing winter storm and likely provide another update tomorrow (Friday).

About this Blog and Disclaimer

The National Weather Service monitors the weather 24/7 and updates forecasts, watches, and warnings as necessary.  For most of southern New England, refer to your local Weather Forecast Office for the latest forecast/warning information at weather.gov/box.  For information from other Weather Forecast Offices, go to weather.gov and click on the location of interest on the map.

A blog is issued when there is a potential risk of hazardous weather to southern New England and serves to provide background information regarding the significant weather with somewhat of an educational slant.  In the case of hurricanes, the author will attempt to issue a message when any portion of the United States coastline may be seriously impacted.  It’s intended to complement and not serve as an alternative to official forecasts issued by the National Weather Service.  Readers are urged to check National Weather Service forecasts and warnings for the most timely and updated weather information.  This weather message is solely produced by the listed author and does not constitute an official product of the Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center (BHOSC).

The frequency of this blog will depend upon the nature of the weather threat and availability of the author.  Thus, for the latest information on weather forecasts and warnings, refer to the National Weather Service, which monitors and forecasts the weather 24/7.

Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center (BHOSC)

The BHOSC maintains a continuous daily observation record that dates from February 1, 1885 without interruption and provides educational information on weather and climate to area students and the community at large.  Your support of BHOSC is much appreciated and enables this nonprofit organization to maintain the long-term climate record at the Blue Hill Observatory (longest continuous record in North America) and provide valuable educational resources on weather and climate via outreach to schools, site visits/tours, webinars, and conferences.  For more information on the Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center, explore bluehill.org.

Message issued January 22, 2026 by:
Bob Thompson
Retired National Weather Service Meteorologist
Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center Board member