A new forecast map has revealed a 3,000-mile-long swath of the US set to be hit with snow this week as a trio of winter storms barrels across the US.
Meteorologists predict accumulating snow will fall in more than 40 states from California to Maine over the next four days. Most areas will receive one to six inches, but some could see a foot or more.
By the end of the week, several feet of snow could pile up in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
Heavy accumulations are also expected in Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
In the Midwest, much of northern Kansas is expecting up to a foot of snow, as well as localized areas in Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois.
Further East, up to a foot of snow may fall in northern Virginia and northern Maine, as well as portions of upstate New York and West Virginia.
The snow will be brought by three back-to-back storms set to hit the US this week, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue winter storm warnings and advisories in parts of 20 states.
Those include Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
In addition to the snow, widespread icing could cause power outages, create dangerous road conditions and trigger deicing operations at airports, potentially leading to flight delays.
Significant rainfall and flooding are also a concern for the south-central and southeastern US.
The first two storms could inundate the region with two to six inches of rain through Thursday, followed by the third storm on Friday that will dump five to 10 inches of rain. This could cause flooding and potentially dangerous thunderstorms.
The first storm kicks off Tuesday and stretches into Wednesday, bringing heavy snowfall and dangerous ice accumulations to more than a dozen eastern states from Missouri to Maryland and Massachusetts, according to AccuWeather.
In some places, snowfall rates could reach one to two inches per hour, making it impossible for road crews to keep up, AccuWeather meteorologists warned.
The area from eastern Kentucky to New Jersey and Delaware is expected to see the most snowfall, with roughly three to six inches of accumulation. This includes the major cities of Washington DC, Philadelphia and Charleston, West Virginia.
This first storm alone has the potential to break snowfall records.