UPDATED

40 inches now reported in West Virginia!

Intense snow band that’s dumping an incredible 2-4, possibly 5 inches of snow per hour holds firm over DC-NY megalopolis.

Cape Cod, MA now upgraded to a blizzard warning.

Temps at or below freezing from northern North Carolina to Canada at noon today.

Some dramatic snow images beginning to come in.

Frederick, MD

Montgomery Village, MD

Ashburn Farm, near DC

Somewhere in Maryland

Elizabethtown, PA

Times Sq, NYC

ORIGINAL POST FROM EARLIER

As arctic and tropical air along with two jet streams converge over the Mid-Atlantic, we have an epic snowstorm which is highly likely to go into the record books as one of the worst in history.

Heavy snow has been over DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and now New York for some time but true blizzard conditions are only now beginning to set in as the secondary low forms and deepens off the Delmarva.

A truly stunning pre dawn space view of the Blizzard of 2016 engulfing the Big Cities of the East. This is looking east out towards the Atlantic.

Many parts within the Mid-Atlantic are already crippled with combination of heavy snow and strong winds.

View of Columbia Heights in DC just after 6am ET.

No flights in or out of Reagan National today.

Delray, VA

Impressive images early this morning from a snowbound Times Square, NYC.

Note in the below infrared animation how clouds rise and cool along with moisture increasing as the secondary increases rate and depth of moisture streaming from Atlantic into the cold air over the Mid-Atlantic.

TOP IMAGE CREDIT: The Historianess ‏@historianess

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Alex Lamers ‏@AlexJLamers 2h2 hours ago

09Z composite analysis: surface low ramping up now under coupled jet structure aloft. LLJ focused into DC. Classic.

Multiple reports of thundersnow across the DC-Baltimore region beneath the incredible snow band driving in off the Atlantic. Snowfall rates of 2-4″ per hour possible.

As of 6.25am Lewes, DE has sustained winds of 59 mph, gusting 72 mph along with 4+ft storm surge.

Wave heights of 21ft being reported off Delaware.

Tech discussion from NWS.

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0058
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0320 AM CST SAT JAN 23 2016

AREAS AFFECTED…PORTIONS OF VA/MD/DE/WV/DC METRO TO NJ/PA/NY/CT

CONCERNING…HEAVY SNOW

VALID 230920Z – 231415Z

SUMMARY…HEAVY SNOW AND INCREASINGLY STRONG NORTHEASTERLY WINDS CAN
BE EXPECTED THROUGH MID-MORNING FROM NORTHERN VA/DE AND DC METRO/WV
EASTERN PANHANDLE/INTERIOR MD TO NJ AND SOUTHERN/EASTERN PA TO FAR
SOUTHERN NY INCLUDING THE NYC METRO/LONG ISLAND AND SOUTHWEST CT.
PEAK SNOW RATES ARE LIKELY TO REACH/LOCALLY EXCEED 2 IN/HR…WITH
BLIZZARD OR NEAR-BLIZZARD CONDITIONS PARTICULARLY IN AREAS NEAR/JUST
WEST OF THE I-95 CORRIDOR.

DISCUSSION…WATER VAPOR IMAGERY/EVENING UPPER-AIR DATA DEPICT THE
SLOW EASTWARD ADVANCEMENT OF A CLOSED MID-LEVEL CYCLONE OVER THE
CENTRAL APPALACHIANS AND A STRONG/COUPLED UPPER-LEVEL JET ALONG THE
COASTAL MID-ATLANTIC/NORTHEAST STATES. 09Z/4AM EST OBSERVATIONS
FEATURE A STEADILY DEEPENING SURFACE LOW /988 MB/ OFF THE COAST OF
SOUTHEAST VA WITH A NORTH/NORTHWESTWARD-EXTENDING SUBTLE INVERTED
TROUGH THAT DELINEATES A NEAR-COASTAL CORRIDOR OF VERY STRONG
PRESSURE FALLS OF AS MUCH AS 4-7 MB/2-HR.

SPECIAL 06Z OBSERVED SOUNDINGS FROM WASHINGTON-DULLES AND NEW YORK
CITY SAMPLED A SATURATED THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT CONDUCIVE FOR
HEAVY SNOW WITH ESSENTIALLY A SATURATED DENDRITIC LAYER AROUND
500-600 MB AND AN AGGREGATION-CONDUCIVE NEARLY ISOTHERMAL THERMAL
LAYER BETWEEN 700-850 MB. COLLOCATION OF AMPLE MID-LEVEL
FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING AND WEAK STATIC STABILITY…WHICH IS LARGELY
RELATED TO THE NORTHEASTWARD-SURGING MID-LEVEL DRY SLOT PER WATER
IMAGERY…WILL SUPPORT MULTIPLE WSW/ENE-ORIENTED INTENSE BANDS OF
HEAVY SNOW. EMBEDDED RATES WILL REACH OR EXCEED 2 IN/HR FOR A
MULTI-HOUR DURATION THROUGH MID-MORNING. ASIDE FROM A PERSISTENT
NUMBER OF 1+ IN/HR RATES OBSERVED AT BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON AND
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OVERNIGHT…METAR SNINCR OBSERVATIONS AS OF 08Z
SUGGEST 2 IN/HR RATES ARE BEING OBSERVED AT WASHINGTON-DULLES AND
MIDDLETOWN/HARRISBURG PA…WITH NEW YORK CITY/JFK ALSO REPORTING A 2
IN/HR RATE AS OF 09Z.

FURTHERMORE…REGIONAL WSR-88D VWPS ARE SAMPLING A
NORTHWARD-SHIFTING CORRIDOR OF SIGNIFICANTLY STRENGTHENING
EAST-NORTHEASTERLY WINDS WITHIN THE LOWEST 1-2 KM AGL…ACCENTUATED
BY 50+ KT WINDS AROUND 1 KM PER STERLING VA-KLWX…DOVER AIR FORCE
BASE-KDOX…AND PHILADELPHIA/MT HOLLY-KDIX WSR-88D VWP DATA. AS
SUCH…BLIZZARD OR NEAR-BLIZZARD CONDITIONS CAN INCREASINGLY BE
EXPECTED INTO THE MID-MORNING HOURS…PARTICULARLY IN AREAS NEAR AND
JUST WEST /WITHIN 50 MILES OR SO/ OF INTERSTATE 95.

..GUYER.. 01/23/2016

ATTN…WFO…OKX…PHI…BGM…CTP…LWX…

LAT…LON   39597440 39297504 38377691 38667853 39337885 40217832
41247538 41407305 40847247 40527374 39597440

Thank or blame the unusually warm water offshore for the feedback to a much deeper, more intense coastal low and moisture stream crossing the Big Cities.

NWS Baltimore-Washington forecasted snow totals.

Ridging and warmer air follows in the wake of this storm but impacts will last days!

Will update post later today as more information, imagery comes in.

See video for today’s discussion.

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Tags: baltimore blizzard, blizzard, Blizzard 2016, dc blizzard, Eeast Coast blizzard 2016, NYC blizzard, philadelphia blizzard 2016, Washington DC snowstorm 2016