It might head out to sea, or it might be a 'blockbuster" late-weekend blizzard for the East Coast.
As of the afternoon of Feb. 17, top computer models continue to pore through weather data to determine the direction and strength of a storm that's still several days away from the East Coast. At the moment, the models don't agree.
"While confidence in a storm is fairly high, the timing, track, and exact ... weather impacts remain highly uncertain," the National Weather Service said in an online forecast discussion posted Feb. 17 at 2:29 p.m EST.
The weather service said that the latest European weather model shows a "farther south track with little to no precipitation for the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeast." However another model, the Europeans' AI model known as the EC-AIFS, "has been consistent in showing a fairly classic nor'easter set up for the region."
One forecaster, Weather Trader meteorologist Ryan Maue, in an email to USA TODAY, said the odds appear to be increasing for a major nor’easter with the potential for "blockbuster snowfall."
"A major storm is likely to develop out of the Southeast U.S. and emerge off the Mid-Atlantic and either head (1) east out to sea or (2) snuggle up nicely off New England," resulting in snow along the I-95 corridor, Maue said.