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New wave of winter weather heads to East Coast

Posted at 9:43 AM, Dec 29, 2012
and last updated 2012-12-29 11:43:06-05

By CNN Staff

(CNN) — Another wave of winter weather — this time smaller — will dump more inches of snow Saturday in the East Coast, forecasters said.

Snow covers most of the lower 48 states after a week of wicked weather, but it is not over yet.

The storm in the South is forecast to move into the Northeast on Saturday.

Two to four inches of snow could fall from southern Illinois to New Jersey.

New York City will see a couple inches of snow Saturday while parts of Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts could see higher snow amounts by Saturday night depending on the storm’s track.

Freezing rain threatened parts of Texas, Missouri and Tennessee and a fresh snowstorm was expected to push into the Ohio Valley.

Oklahoma and Arkansas residents should prepare for ice accumulation on top of snow, which will compromise power lines, said CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

Snow covers 64% of the ground in the lower 48 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Last winter’s top snow coverage for the lower 48 was nearly 48%.

“That was in February at the peak of winter and we’re still in December,” Schneider said.

The powerful winter storm that dumped all that snow has moved out over the Atlantic, but not before depositing from 10 to 17 inches of snow across parts of Maine, according to the National Weather Service.

Storm-related incidents have been blamed for the deaths of 10 people nationwide, including two children in Arkansas.

Snowfall totals of a foot or more were common throughout the Northeast: 21 inches fell in Woodford, Vermont; 17.4 inches in Addison, New York; and 15 inches in Ashfield, Massachusetts.

The front was welcome news to snow enthusiasts in Vermont and northern New York.

“It will keep the ski resorts happy and they won’t waste money making snow,” said John Goff, lead forecaster of the National Weather Service office in Burlington.

Snowfall totals will be smaller Saturday, he predicted, with 2 to 4 inches in valleys and 3 to 6 inches in the mountains.

Major airports reported relatively few weather-related problems after a week that included thousands of flight delays and cancellations.

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