![Click to enlarge snow clearing](/image/s8/170336/140213184955_27_weather_0213_h.jpg)
As if the East Coast hadn't gotten the point by now, Mother Nature drove it home yet again -- that this is winter, hear it roar.
The storm that threw down a concoction of sleet, snow and freezing rain over the South is pounding an icy path from Philadelphia to Maine Friday.
It is burying many places in the Northeast under up to 20 inches of total snow accumulation, the Nation Weather Service says.
The skies will be teeming with flakes falling at a rate of 2-3 inches per hour in the northernmost regions. Massive piles of snow will become a stumbling block to most people there.
But closer to Philadelphia, freezing rain could make things dangerously slick, the weather service said.
Winter storm wallops Northeast Snowplow kills pregnant woman in NYC Vehicles slipping and sliding in the storm Storm might ruin Valentine's Day
Even in the North, where people are more accustom to dealing with winter's trickery than their compatriots farther South, fast-falling snow on Thursday caused tractor-trailers to jackknife. It prompted authorities in New York to ban commercial traffic on Interstate 84 -- a major east-west highway running through the state.
Comment: For the last couple of months, across the northern hemisphere, extremely cold weather conditions have been driving many wintering Arctic and boreal bird species much further south than is usual. These include Snowy Owls recorded in Hawaii and Bermuda!! Additionally, many are turning up in unprecedented numbers. This all points to a probable return of the Ice Age. See also this selection: Rare Arctic bird turns up in Darwin, Australia
UK storms bring in rare Arctic gulls to Pembrokeshire
Storm blows Canadian bird 3,000 miles on to Tyrone lough, Northern Ireland
Bird watchers flock to Portland, UK after a rare Arctic Brunnich's Guillemot spotted
Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?
Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion
Incredible Hawk Owl invasion in Estonia!
Huge Snowy Owl invasion becomes official in Canada and U.S.
Thousands of Hawk Owls descend on Finland as food in northern Russia runs out
Ice Age Cometh: Unprecedented influx of Arctic Ivory Gulls into UK