Meteorological spring arrival to meet with wintry storms; plus, 2 dogs rescued during blizzard return home

0:00From AccuWeather.com, this is AccuWeather Daily, a brief host read article, its weather news, and a nutshell. This episode is brought to you by Factor. Get out of your meal run with Factor and kickstart your healthy eating journey. Factor makes it easy with 100 rotating weekly meals designed by dietitians and crafted by chefs. These meals are delicious and super easy to grab and eat because they're ready in about two minutes. There's tons of meal options too, from high protein to calorie smart, Mediterranean diet options, GLP1 support, ready to eat salads, and more. For me, I'm just looking for a little variety throughout the week. So I recently tried Factor's queso, fendido, and ground beef. In two minutes, it was ready, and what I wasn't expecting was the flavor explosion I got. The queso was rich and creamy. The nicely seasoned ground beef, a perfect complement. But don't just take it from me, try Factor for yourself. Go to FactorMeals.com slash AccuWeather50All and use code AccuWeather50All to get 50% off and

1:03free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor. New subscribers only, very spy plan. One free breakfast item per box for one year while subscription is active. Well, meteorological spring begins on Sunday, but that will not stop winter from making yet another comeback from the Midwest to the Northeast. Multiple storms bringing rounds of snow, ice, and rain will impact about 120 million folks through the middle of next week. A swath of snow will extend from Montana to southern Michigan. Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, as well as Minneapolis, Minnesota, are forecast to pick up to about three inches from the weak system. A large area of warm air will hang on for one more day on the Ohio Valley and briefly extend into the Northeast on Saturday. Combined with late February sunshine, it may feel even warmer than the projected highs in the 40s, 50s, and even 60s in some areas, however, the brief taste of spring will not

2:08last. Arctic air is surging across Canada and is forecast to sweep southeastward over the weekend, reaching the upper Midwest, Saturday, and then the Northeast on Sunday. How far south the Arctic front pushes will determine how far north, snow, and mixed precipitation extend with the next storm. Snow, ice, and rain will spread from the central portions of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys on Sunday to parts of the Atlantic seaboard on Monday. The Arctic air will help create a larger zone of snow and ice. The Sunday to Monday storm will have more moisture to work with, and the storms that followed the recent blizzard, making it more capable of producing upwards of six inches of snow. However, the storm's weak nature is likely to prevent much heavier snow accumulations. Midwest cities most likely to get enough snow to shovel and plow include Springfield, Illinois, and Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis.

3:09Other small bubble of snow is likely for the mountains of West Virginia, and perhaps parts of Western Virginia. Windtree travel is likely along much of Interstate 70 from Missouri to just west of Pittsburgh from Sunday into Monday morning. In areas east of the mountains in Pennsylvania, Maryland, northern parts of Virginia, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey, where snow or a wintery mix becomes intermittent from midday into Monday morning, precipitation may melt on treated roads in much of this zone, accumulations of a coating to an inch are likely mainly on non-paved surfaces. Secondary roads and sidewalks may still be slippery, and motorists should expect wintery conditions for the Monday morning drive and the Appalachians and the Piedmont areas, as well as in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. A larger storm will affect parts of the Midwest, and the northeast from Tuesday to Wednesday, for lapping with lingering snow, ice, and rain from Monday's system and parts of the

4:10northeast. This next storm will spread snow in a wintery mix farther north, including parts of the Great Lakes and the northeast on Tuesday. Accuethers Matt Benz said that a key to the storm from Tuesday to Wednesday will be the Arctic high pressure area, which will be moving off the mid-Atlantic coast rather than holding its ground. Weatherly breezes will allow a swift warm-up so that snow and ice quickly transition to rain in most areas over the mid-Atlantic and New England from Tuesday to Wednesday. Since there is still a significant amount of ice on some streams and rivers, the high temps and rain will tend to break it up, where the ice jams up, there is a risk of rapid rises and water levels above the jams then below where the jams break. Some unprotected areas along flood-prone streams and rivers could be at risk. With a massive amount of snow still on the ground, including large piles and urban areas from Philadelphia to New York City, Boston, and Providence, Rhode Island, urban flooding is likely from Tuesday to Wednesday as rain combines with melting snow.

5:16Clearing storm drains ahead of the storm may help reduce the risk of deep flooding in city streets. Now, another problem that may impact ground and air travel in parts of the Midwest and the northeast with the upcoming storms will be areas of fog. Any time warmer, moist air flows over cold ground or snow cover, fog may form and could become locally dense. Well, turning now to some good news that came out of the recent blizzard on Monday, a snow plow operator in New York rescued two dogs lost in the storm. A video captured by the snow plow driver Kenny McGowan showed two dogs running through the snow on Westbound Sunrise Highway near the town hall of Babylon. McGowan followed the dogs for about a mile, fearful that a driver blinded by the white out conditions would hit them. He called a friend who responded to the scene with a leash. As soon as he was able, McGowan positioned his plow to block traffic so they could retrieve the dogs. Several good Samaritans assisted as well and a family had a blanket to wrap them up in.

6:20The dogs warmed up on a snow plow truck and were transported to the Babylon animal shelter. Staff found one of the dogs had a microchip and they were able to locate the owners. The dogs named Harper and Heidi have been returned home safe and sound and as McGowan said, it could have been a tragedy. The number of people who stopped to help shows that people really do care. That's all for now. You can find more regional forecasts and science-based articles at acuether.com and for your local forecast at your fingertips, download the Acuether app. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Be safe. I'll be back on Monday with more from Acuether.