Developing nor’easter puts 45 million on alert as winter storm eyes Northeast this weekend

 Several inches of snowfall is possible across much of the Northeast and interior parts of New England, with heavy snowfall expected along the northern Interstate 95 corridor, including Boston. Perhaps even New York City has enough snow to have the city's biggest snowfall in two years — though the bar is pretty low.

The Northeast is set to face the onslaught of a nor'easter this weekend, which is expected to be the first major winter storm of the year on the East Coast.

Nearly 45 million Americans from Georgia to Maine are under winter weather alerts as the storm could bring heavy snowfall, strong winds and dangerous ice.

A widespread winter storm warning is in effect due to several inches of snow across much of the interior Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England, including Boston and the northern Interstate 95 corridor.

The ocean effect with water temperatures in the 40s and 50s will keep coastal communities from New York City southward from seeing much accumulation.

The storm system began moving across the southern US on Friday, bringing heavy rain and even snow to parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

This strong area of low pressure is continuing to strengthen on Saturday as it moves toward the Eastern Seaboard, and will peak over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states Saturday night into Sunday. Generally, heavy snowfall is expected in the area from Pennsylvania to New England.

Many forecast factors can still change, as the balance between warm and cold air makes nor'easters extremely difficult to predict. The I-95 corridor is particularly difficult due to its proximity to warm ocean waters and its sensitivity to wind direction depending on the position of the low pressure system.

West of I-95, temperatures will remain cold enough for all but snowfall, and the storm's big winners will be New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and upper New England. According to the Fox Forecast Center, this is where the heaviest snowfall will last the longest.

Cities like Boston and Worcester in Massachusetts, Manchester in New Hampshire, Hartford in Connecticut, Albany in New York, Providence in Rhode Island and Scranton in Pennsylvania have a high chance of seeing more than 6 inches of snow. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania should have no problem ending its record snow-free streak.

According to the latest forecast, temperatures will be several degrees above zero on the I-95 corridor south of New York City. That means the current record streak of consecutive days without an inch of snow is likely to continue in Philadelphia and Baltimore, according to the Fox Forecast Center.

This is an incredibly tricky and uncertain forecast for New York City as the city will be at the rain-snow line for most of the storm. Although it has a chance to break a nearly two-year streak of 1-inch snowy days, projected accumulations for the nor'easter in the Big Apple are trending downwards.

Snow accumulation rates were expected to reach 0.05 to 0.15 inches per three hours by Saturday morning on the spine of the Appalachians in western North Carolina and Virginia as the storm crawls across the Mid-Atlantic. Already, 0.20 inches of snow accumulation was reported in Rutherford, North Carolina Saturday morning.

Freezing rain can cover roads with ice, down trees and power lines, causing power outages. As the storm moves northeast, warm temperatures will transition from south to north to freezing rain from late morning to early afternoon.

Meanwhile, mountain wave winds are blowing over eastern Tennessee sections of the Appalachians.

Wind gusts reached 80 mph in the wind-prone location of Camp Creek, Tennessee, while the Cove Mountain Fire Tower reached 71 mph Saturday morning. A high wind warning will remain in effect until 10 a.m. local time.