Winter storm: Schools close in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh as new blast of snow hits Northeast

Philadelphia's mayor called the storm "an all-hands-on-deck moment."

January 19, 2024, 3:35 PM

More than 100 million Americans are under winter alerts Friday as a storm hits the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and another brutal surge of Arctic air pushes into the South.

Over 1,000 flights have been canceled Friday, with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area and LaGuardia Airport in New York City the hardest hit.

The snow forecast

Snow fell from Indiana to Delaware on Friday, causing dangerous commutes in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.

PHOTO: A light snow falls during a snow storm with Metro North trains and New York City skyline in the foreground in  Hastings on Hudson, NY Jan. 19, 2024.
A light snow falls during a snow storm with Metro North trains and New York City skyline in the foreground in Hastings on Hudson, NY Jan. 19, 2024.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard /ABC News

Most areas are forecast to see 2 to 5 inches.

New York City may get 1 to 2 inches of snow -- the second day this week with more than 1 inch of snow following New York City's snow drought of more than 700 days.

PHOTO: William Hagenbuch (4), in front, helps to shovel the sidewalk with Andrew Hagenbuch, center, and Henry Hagenbuch (21 months), from Yardley, along E. College Ave. as snow continues to fall in Yardley, Jan. 19, 2024.
William Hagenbuch (4), in front, helps to shovel the sidewalk with Andrew Hagenbuch, center, and Henry Hagenbuch (21 months), from Yardley, along E. College Ave. as snow continues to fall in Yardley, Jan. 19, 2024.
Daniella Heminghaus /Bucks County Courier Times/USA Today

Philadelphia has declared a snow emergency and the city's school district has closed schools for Friday. Mayor Cherelle Parker warned Thursday night that the storm is "an all-hands-on-deck moment."

Baltimore City Public Schools and Pittsburgh's public schools also closed their doors on Friday.

In Nashville, schools have been shut down the entire week in the wake of the snowfall that wreaked havoc on roads.

PHOTO: A person walks through snow Jan. 18, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. A snowstorm blanketed the area with up to eight inches of snow and frigid temperatures.
A person walks through snow Jan. 18, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. A snowstorm blanketed the area with up to eight inches of snow and frigid temperatures.
George Walker Iv/AP
PHOTO: Winter Weather Tennessee
Jesse Asher, left, and Eric Magas shovel snow Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. A snowstorm blanketed the area with up to eight inches of snow and frigid temperatures.
George Walker Iv/AP

In snow-covered Cincinnati, the police department is asking drivers not to call 911 for car crashes unless someone is hurt.

The snow will end by Friday night, leaving bitterly cold temperatures across much of the Northeast.

PHOTO: A man clears snow from his car in a Washington, DC, neighborhood on January 19, 2024.
A man clears snow from his car in a Washington, DC, neighborhood on January 19, 2024.
Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: A man waits for a bus during a snow storm in Hastings on Hudson, NY Jan. 19, 2024.
A man waits for a bus during a snow storm in Hastings on Hudson, NY Jan. 19, 2024.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard /ABC News

Brutal cold

Another major Arctic blast is bringing dangerously low temperatures to the Plains, the Midwest and the South this weekend.

The wind chill -- what temperature it feels like -- is forecast on Sunday to plunge to minus 17 degrees in Chicago, minus 10 degrees in Kansas City, 2 degrees in Nashville and 8 degrees in Philadelphia.

Freeze alerts are in effect for cities as far south as New Orleans, Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas.

ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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