First Alert Weather In-Depth: It’s Miller time! Not the beer, but possibly east coast storms

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A little bit of history for you weather enthusiasts: Going back to 1946, a very smart meteorologist by the name of J.E. Miller determined there were two distinctly different types of winter storms that can affect the east coast. These nor’easter type storms are now called “Miller A” and “Miller B”. 

The “Miller A” storm develops near the Gulf of Mexico and rolls up the East Coast. It will affect the mid-Atlantic and northeast states in a big way with heavy snow and wind. This storm reminds me of the so-called Super Storm of March,1993 when Rochester had blizzard warnings and almost 25 inches of snow.

The “Miller B” storm originates in the Midwest and gradually moves across the country before reaching the east coast. However, this type of storm develops a secondary low-pressure system that develops right along the mid-Atlantic coast. This storm then rapidly intensifies and also brings heavy snow to the big cities along the east coast.

Looking ahead, the News10NBC meteorologists think we could actually see both of these types of storms over the next seven to ten days. Our latest weather computer modeling shows snow developing across St. Louis, Cincinnati and eventually into the Washington, D.C. area. This will likely be a “Miller A” type storm. This will be storm number one which will arrive on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then storm number two arrives on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This could be a “Miller B” type storm. This will likely develop near the Gulf of Mexico then rapidly intensify as it rolls-up the east coast for the end of next week.

It is a little early to be definitive on the forecast, but right now, neither storm is projected to have a direct impact on Rochester. However, harsh winter temperatures are expected for us with local amounts of lake effect snow.

Stay tuned to News10NBC First Alert weather as we update the forecast in the coming days.