Nice Storm: The Blizzard of 2016 Is a Scientific Classic

[Narrator] Winter Storm Jonas is hitting

the east coast this weekend.

Hard.

Yeah, yeah, you've heard this before

and you've gotten burned.

But too many forecasts are aligning

for this one to be a fluke.

Some north eastern cities are supposed

to get more than a foot and a half of snow.

It could be one of the worst storms

to hit DC in almost a decade.

What's behind the storm?

First a cold, high pressure system

sets up shop on the north eastern coast.

At the same time a big low pressure system

develops over the middle of the country.

That low pressure system keeps building

and moving up the southern coast

and then moving up, up, up, until it smacks

into the stagnant high pressure system.

When they do finally meet the pressure difference

draws in tons of moisture which eventually

gets dumped down on you in the form of snow.

It's not just the snow you have to worry about.

Sure there'll be paralyzing traffic and transit shutdowns

but places like New York, the Jersey Shore,

and the Chesapeake Bay are also anticipating

major, potentially hurricane-like flooding

thanks to the storm surge on top of naturally high tides.

It could be even worse than a hurricane

because this storm is expected

to last over three high tide cycles.

The storm won't limit its effect to coastal cities either,

the gulf coast is getting extreme rainfall

and places like eastern Arkansaw

are expecting major ice accumulation and hail.

Basically get ready for a long weekend stuck inside.