Over 135 million people across 35 states will be under cold weather alerts over the next several days as the mid-Atlantic and Northeast ready for another round of rain and snow, driven by a low-pressure system developing off the coast of the Carolinas.
This comes on the tail of another system that brought scattered rain and snow to parts of the East Coast on Saturday.
The heaviest snow will fall north and west of the Interstate 95 corridor, where winter alerts remain in effect for cities including Charleston, West Virginia; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Hartford, Connecticut. Snow is expected to start falling in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area in the morning, Philadelphia and New York City by lunchtime and Boston by the afternoon.
More from NBC News:
Snowfall totals in this area are forecast to range from 5 to 8 inches through Sunday, with higher amounts likely in some areas. Snow has already started falling in parts of southern Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg and Annville.
On Sunday afternoon, scattered snow and rain began pushing its way through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
A wintry mix of rain and ice began falling in New York City.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul directed state agencies to prepare to respond to the storm, which could bring 4 to 6 inches of snow to New York City, 2 to 3 inches to Long Island and up to 10 inches to the mid-Hudson region.
“New Yorkers are no stranger to winter weather, but I encourage everyone to make sure you and your family are prepared for the snow and extreme cold, exercise caution if traveling and continue to monitor your local forecast,” Hochul said in a statement.
Most of the snowfall is expected in New York City, and areas nearby, from the early to late evening, according to the National Weather Service field office in New York. Temperatures were beginning to fall Sunday afternoon in NYC, where there may be a lull in snowfall before heavier snow is expected to develop in the evening.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm Saturday. It went into effect Sunday morning.
Murphy urged residents to follow safety protocols and stay off the roads, as the state is expecting about 8 to 12 inches of snow in parts of the state.
In Boston, around 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected to fall from Sunday afternoon into Monday morning.
Snowfall totals as of Sunday afternoon include 7 inches in Grantsville, Maryland and 5.3 inches in Central City, Pennsylvania.
The snow is expected to come to an end Sunday night or early Monday morning as the system moves to the Northeast, affecting states along the I-95 corridor. Snowfall totals between 2 to 6 inches are possible. Lingering snow showers will persist in New England early Monday morning with most snow ending by sunrise.
The one exception will be along the Great Lakes where some lake effect snow will develop downwind of Lake Ontario and Erie. Totals through tonight will range from a general 2 to 6 inches with up to 8 inches possible in some areas.
Varying levels of cold weather alerts will be in effect across much of the country over the next couple of days as a “bitterly cold Arctic airmass” drops temperatures 10 to 40 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service.
“Temperatures have already plummeted across the Rockies, Plains, and Mississippi Valley, and will reach the East Coast Sunday as the noted cold front pushes offshore,” the weather service said in an update Sunday morning. “This will be the coldest air of the Winter season thus far, and in many cases the coldest in several years.”
The cold weather alerts stretch from northern-tier states along the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. The most extreme cold will grip the northern Plains and Rocky Mountains, where wind chill values will dip as low as minus 30 to minus 55 degrees.
Conditions will gradually warm closer to average temperatures by the end of the week, with highs staying 5 to 15 degrees below average in the South into next weekend.
A few record lows will also be possible during the week, including in Kansas City, Missouri; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Pensacola, Florida; Detroit; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia.
Over 1,200 flights flying into, within and out of the U.S. were canceled by Sunday afternoon and more than 2,800 were delayed, according to FlightAware.com. Northeastern airports accounted for most of the delays and cancelations, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey; LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York; and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia.