Powerful nor'easter expected to bring heavy snow, power outages to parts of Northeast

A strong nor'easter is forecast to hit parts of the Northeast this week, bringing excessive rain, heavy snow and formidable winds to states across the region between Monday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

On Monday, a coastal low-pressure weather system "will strengthen rapidly into a major Nor Easter that significantly impacts the Northeast beginning later Monday night through Wednesday," the Weather Prediction Center wrote in a bulletin issued ahead of the oncoming storm. Snow is expected to accumulate rapidly, forecasters said, with at least two inches expected to fall per hour along with strong winds that could make for "dangerous to impossible" travel conditions.

Areas close to sea level will likely see heavy rain, while the chances of snowfall, and how much is expected to accumulate, increases with rising elevation. Forecasters anticipate that parts of the Catskills and southern Adirondacks in New York state, the Berkshires and Worcester Hills in Massachusetts, the Monadnocks and White Mountains in New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains in Vermont will see more than 12 inches of snow as the storm tracks across the region.