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East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
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A wall of wintry mix and rain was pushing into parts of the East on Sunday as a strong arctic high pressure system was forecast to help fuel snow and ice for a large part of the interior Northeast into Monday, forecasters warned.
AccuWeather meteorologists advised that travel on some highways could be difficult Monday and that flight delays because of deicing operations were possible. A strong dome of high pressure sliding from the Great Lakes toward New England was to blame.
“Some record high barometric pressure readings may occur,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
High pressure is usually associated with relatively cool, dry and sunny conditions. However, the lingering effects of the high pressure area will conspire with an approaching storm from the Midwest, creating a “wedge” of cold air as moisture arrives from the Midwest storm, AccuWeather said in its forecast. The storm dumped almost three feet of snow in areas near Buffalo, New York, last last week.
Parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts could see a wintry mix late Sunday and Monday, AccuWeather said. The good news: The big eastern cities along Interstate 95 such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., were expected to get mostly rain.
The National Weather Service in California has confirmed that an EF1 strength tornado struck the small town of Scotts Valley, 30 miles south of San Jose, on Saturday. Damage included downed trees, downed power poles, trees stripped of branches, numerous overturned vehicles and damaged street signs, the weather service said. Its survey team assessed a maximum wind speed of 90 mph.
The weather service team estimated the torndao was about 30 yards wide and lasted for about one-third of a mile. Scotts Valley police posted photos showing the damage, including flipped cars in parking lots.