A late-season winter storm has made its way from the South to the Northeast, dumping snow along the way and bringing freezing temperatures to the South Sunday morning.
Parts of northern Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia saw accumulations between one and four inches, and totals increased as the storm tracked north, the National Weather Service reports. As of Saturday night, six to twelve inches were documented in parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and parts of interior New England.
Two scenes from the North Side today, taken about 10 minutes apart. The first is my favorite street in #Pittsburgh, Sheffield Street, with a tunnel of snow covered trees. Then I headed over to the park, where it was snowing so hard you couldn't even see the bend in the tracks. pic.twitter.com/DWq06aYa0w
— Dave DiCello (@DaveDiCello) March 12, 2022
At around 3:00 p.m., Pennsylvania State Trooper Megan Ammerman tweeted that there was a 73 car pileup on Route 581. Ammermann said 10 individuals sustained “minor to moderate” injuries and that 43 vehicles were damaged.
73-car pileup on snowy PA 581 closes road. Info momentarily here: https://t.co/Eh8Hoqo6XS pic.twitter.com/kgJZAC6Fnr
— Jesse Ferrell (AccuWeather) (@WeatherMatrix) March 12, 2022
CUMBERLAND COUNTY CRASH: 73 vehicles were involved in the crash… 43 vehicles sustained damage. 10 people were injured. Thank you to all the fire departments, penndot and all of the local agencies for the help! pic.twitter.com/0h3OLBkudQ
— Trooper Megan Ammerman (@PSPTroopHPIO) March 13, 2022
The storm has brought howling winds, leaving 100s of thousands without power, the Weather Channel reported. A possible tornado may have touched down in Ocala, Florida, and winds in Charleston tossed a container off of a truck and onto a police car while also knocking over multiple tractor-trailers.
Possible tornado: Sullivan Cadillac In Ocala
📷 Ruthie Archie pic.twitter.com/1wO5nE3yLm— Brian Shields, WFTV (@BrianWFTV) March 12, 2022
WHOA! A Charleston police cruiser was crushed after an empty container flew off its truck during the high winds. Thankfully the officer is OK! >> https://t.co/oCNYU56UQI pic.twitter.com/CoP7XU9RbA
— WMBF News (@wmbfnews) March 12, 2022
The storm is a bomb cyclone, NBC News reported.
Winter storm expert Judah Cohen of Atmospheric Environmental Research, based outside of Boston, spoke to the Associated Press about the storm before its arrival:
A bomb cyclone has nothing to do with explosions, except in how explosive a storm develops. It is when a storm intensifies rapidly by losing pressure quickly, dropping at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. In this case, computer models forecast this storm to drop from around 1006 millibars in Alabama, be down to around 976 in Boston and in the 960s by the time it hits Canada, Cohen said.
“With this bomb cyclone, maybe what’s the biggest concern is how late in the season its coming and that it’s traveling over inland areas,” Cohen told the outlet.
Cohen’s concern is rooted in the freezing temperatures expected in the south Sunday morning that will pose a severe threat to budding plants.
“These cold and potentially record breaking temperatures could pose a threat to sensitive vegetation and unprotected outdoor plumbing in the Southeast,” the National Weather Service reports.
The Weather Channel forecasts the following lows:
- Atlanta, GA – 20 degrees
- Charlotte, NC – 21 degrees
- Memphis, TN- 27 degrees
- Nashville, TN – 19 degrees
- Tallahassee, FL – 25 degrees
Knoxville, Nashville, Raleigh, Atlanta, and Mobile will all flirt with record lows, according to the Weather Channel.
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