Biggest snowstorm in two years possible for New York, as Northeast braces for snow

Over the weekend, while millions were watching the big game, meteorologists were watching a trend in the forecast models signaling increasing odds for an impactful winter storm for the Northeast, including snow-starved New York City.

A colder and more southern shift to the storm's track is what captured forecasters' attention, increasing the likelihood for plowable snow from Philadelphia to Providence, Rhode Island. The southern shift in the models painted the picture of a narrow axis of heavier snow inching closer to the I-95 corridor.

Of even greater concern, the timing of the heaviest snowfall was forecast to align with Tuesday morning's rush hour. The potential for snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour combined with the prime commute time could cause major travel delays on the road and at the major airports from Philadelphia to Newark, New Jersey, and New York to Boston.

By Monday morning, 49 million people were already under winter alerts stretching from parts of the central Plains and Midwest into the Northeast and New England.

Snow is expected to fall across parts of eastern Oklahoma, southern Missouri, parts of Arkansas, western Tennessee and southern Kentucky on Monday. At the same time, a cold rain will move up through the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast by the evening hours.

Monday night into Tuesday morning is when rain will change to snow across the Northeast, including along the I-95 corridor from Philadelphia to Hartford, Connecticut.

On Tuesday, the switch from rain to snow is expected to occur shortly before sunrise, with snow falling at rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour during the morning commute along the I-95 corridor from Philadelphia to Hartford and Providence, Rhode Island.

Even heavier snow