The Kenan snowstorm will hit the northeastern United States this Friday evening and will move up to Canada this weekend. New England will be the hardest hit region with more than 40cm expected in Boston and hurricane force winds. Millions of Americans and Canadians risk being plunged into darkness.
On January 16 and 17, a historic snow storm affected the eastern United States and Quebec with nearly 50 cm raised at the border and hundreds of thousands of people without electricity. This weekend, a new winter storm, storm Kenan, will move up the east coast and cause a real blizzard.
A depression described as a “weather bomb”
A depression at 1010 hPa will deepen this evening off Florida and will rise very quickly next night along the American East Coast. The pressure in its center could fall around 965 hPa on Saturday evening, once it reaches eastern Canada. Meteorologists call these depressions “weather bombs” because they deepen very quickly, losing at least 24 hPa in 24 hours. The rapid digging of these “bombs” most often generates particularly violent winds as they pass, as well as heavy precipitation of rain or snow if the temperature is low enough.
The storm of #snow will begin this Friday evening on the East Coast of the #United States. New England will be particularly exposed on Saturday with accumulations of more than 50 cm possible and a real blizzard (>100 km/h). Boston will be one of the most impacted major cities⚠❄ pic.twitter.com/E5GlXFznD2
— The Weather Channel (@lachainemeteo) January 28, 2022
A cyclogenesis favored by the Jet Stream
The period from late January to March is the most favorable period for the development of snowstorms on the East Coast of the United States. In general, the jet stream tends to dip along the east coast, bringing polar air down over Atlantic waters, which promotes rapid cyclogenesis. Then form the snowstorms that the inhabitants can experience during this period on the East Coast. In recent weeks, the jet stream tended to dip much further east over the Atlantic and the cyclogenesis was therefore far enough from the coast. This weekend and this weekend, everything will be further west, raising fears of a major event.
The East Coast on alert: up to 50 cm expected in New England
All the states between the Carolinas and Maine will be affected by this storm, including the capital of Washington, and New York. This storm will reach its maximum intensity in the New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island), as well as in eastern Canada. One of the main concerns of the authorities concerns the strength of the winds, which can blow at more than 100 km / h, or even more on the coastal areas. Many power cuts are to be expected. Snow accumulations should be around 15 to 30 cm on average, locally much more in New England and in particular in Boston. Due to the strong wind, many snowdrifts will form and it should be impossible to drive in some states this weekend. Flight cancellations are also to be expected at airports on the East Coast.
The uncertainties on the trajectory which were still relevant yesterday now seem to have been removed. The depression will stay away from the coast and will not re-enter land or near the coastline. The majority scenario that was favored by our services is therefore confirmed. A priori, the interior lands of the states will be little affected by this storm which will thus remain very coastal.
One thing is certain, this “weather bomb” will bring the first major storm of this winter along the East Coast. Note that this time, the Great Lakes region, as well as western Quebec, including Montreal, will be spared. We will closely follow the evolution of this storm in the coming hours and this weekend.