Winter's Wicked Wallop In 5 Headlines

NPR | By Mark Memmott

Published January 22, 2014 at 7:40 AM EST

The path was snow-covered Tuesday night in Brooklyn as two people walked through a park.

That "bombogenesis" we warned about on Tuesday (a big word for harsh winter weather) did what it was expected to do across much of the eastern U.S.

Here's how The Associated Press describes what happened:

"A swirling storm clobbered parts of the mid-Atlantic and the urban Northeast on Tuesday, dumping nearly a foot and a half of snow, grounding thousands of flights, closing government offices in the nation's capital and making a mess of the evening commute.

"The storm stretched 1,000 miles between Kentucky and Massachusetts but hit especially hard along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston, creating perilous rides home for millions of motorists."

There have also been, as we've reported, thousands of flight cancellations and delays in the past two days. FlightAware.com tracks them here.

Rather than go on and on about how the weather's been, we thought we'd let five headlines and links tell the rest of the story:

-- "Freezing winds spell nightmare commute in Northeast, mid-Atlantic." (NBC News)

-- "Bone-chilling cold is back." (The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang)

-- "Record 13-inch snowfall, bitter temps slow region for 2nd day." (Philadelphia Inquirer)

-- "Arctic Air Descends." (The Hartford Courant)

-- "Shovel? Sweep? Totals Vary." (Boston Globe homepage)

What's the forecast?

The National Weather Service says "the biggest snowfall event of the season thus far is wrapping up for the Mid-Atlantic and will persist until early Wednesday for southern New England. ... The greatest snowfall is likely for southern New England, where 12 to 18 inches of snow is a distinct possibility! It will definitely look and feel like a winter wonderland."

We should note that the Weather Service also says that "over the West Coast and into the Inter-Mountain West, it's like a broken record with very dry weather and above-normal temperatures expected to continue. The bright side to this pattern is that there will be bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures for those enjoying outdoor activities."