Northeast Welcomes Spring With Another Winter Storm

Winter Storm Toby, which is making its way up the east coast, is the fourth Nor’easter to hit the area in less than a month, and meteorologists predict it will yield more snow accumulation than any of the last three storms.

Despite the official start of spring, up to a foot of snow is expected in parts of the northeast and New England from Tuesday evening into Wednesday night. At the time of this writing, three to six inches of snow have reportedly already fallen in parts of West Virginia, Virginia and western Maryland, according to The Weather Channel.

Experts predict that, by the time it reaches New England, Toby may be one of the strongest storm systems to hit the Interstate 95 corridor this late in the season. The snow is predominately wet and heavy, making it hard to plow and impossible to move once it has hardened in place.

So far, the National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Warnings from eastern Massachusetts all the way down to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina. Major cities will be affected, including Boston, Hartford, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C.

By Thursday, experts expect the storm to be confined to parts of Maine. However, strong winds will likely persist in coastal areas of New England.

Meteorologists are asking people to count on at least 6 inches of snow, though there may be much more. Areas as far south as Maryland face the possibility of 18 inches, according to The Weather Channel.

While there’s no accurate way of predicting it, many are speculating that widespread power-outages will be a possibility again this time around.

The storm has picked up viral status on Twitter, where it is trending under the hashtag “Noreaster 4.” Many in the north east are exasperated by the sudden confluence of so many storms in the month that is supposed to signify the end of a long winter.

“Major snowstorm coming tomorrow,” tweeted one user. “I am in the ’45 bottles of wine’ warning area,” he wrote, including a photo-shopped image of a snowfall map.

“Yesterday, I was supposed to only be getting 1-3 inches of snow,” wrote another person. “Now I’m getting 1-3 inches PER HOUR.”

Several users also decried the choice of hashtag, wondering why “Noreaster 4” was used instead of “Foureaster.”