PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The fourth nor’easter in three weeks is set to smack the East Coast on the first day of spring.
The bulk of the dangerous, wind-driven snow and sleet is expected to wallop New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and parts of eastern Pennsylvania before heading off to Nantucket early Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
Sleet and freezing rain are expected Tuesday afternoon, the first day of spring. On Wednesday, about 6 to 9 inches of snow is expected, with some areas getting nearly a foot.
The jet stream, the upper level river of air that guides weather, is stuck in a plunging pattern that brings plenty of moisture from the south up the East Coast, said Brian Hurley, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Four nor’easters in three weeks is highly unusual, but it happens when a pattern locks in. And that’s happened, Hurley said.
