First Snow Of The Season Arrives On East Coast

Snow blanketed much of the east coast on Saturday and even surprised some residents in the South, giving people in states from Virginia to Massachusetts their first snow of the season.

According to the National Weather Service, snow will move northward into the mid-Atlantic and coastal Northeast and New England in the afternoon. The NWS predicts accumulating snow will continue into the evening and overnight on Saturday in the mid-Atlantic and northeast as an area of low pressure continues to track across the coast.

In New York's Central Park, the NWS recorded just under two inches of snow. Snowfall totals exceeded three inches in some parts of Northern Connecticut and in western Massachusetts, forecasters reported just under three inches of snow. Snow totals along coastal New Jersey reached up to three inches and in Washington D.C. forecasters had also predicted there would be anywhere between two to four inches of snow.

The NWS says additional heavy accumulations are possible across portions of Long Island, southern and central New England, as well as coastal and eastern Maine before the system enters Canada on Sunday.

According to the Weather Channel, by the time the snow leaves the northeast, it would have left behind a blanket of snow 2,000 miles long.

A photo captured by NASA showed a band of snow stretching from Louisiana to east North Carolina.

The NWS says snowfall is also expected Saturday along the upper peninsula of Michigan and the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The lake effect snow will move to the lower great lakes on Sunday and by Monday morning, another disturbance will slide southward over the upper midwest and the NWS says snow is expected with this system.

The NWS says there is also a marginal risk for severe weather in South Florida Saturday.

Photo: Horse carriages carry passengers through the snow near Central Park on December 9, 2017 in New York City. The area is expected to see 3-6 inches of snow in the first snowfall of the season. Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images News/Getty Images