Little or no snow, but icy cold expected Wednesday

The wintry storm that pummeled much of the country with sleet and snow is expected to offer a moment of calm Wednesday, although temperatures will remain much lower than normal.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday that “a rather quiet but generally chilly pattern is in store for the U.S. over the next two days.”

The respite comes after snow, sleet and ice caused disruptions in cities across the country starting Friday. From Oregon to Texas to Pennsylvania, airports canceled thousands of flights, schools shut down for snow days, roads closed, and people died in weather-related accidents. The storm was strengthened by an Arctic air mass that brought below-freezing weather to parts of the nation.

On Tuesday, the storm started to ease up. The National Weather Service canceled the winter storm warnings it had issued Tuesday morning because of warmer-than-expected temperatures, which made snowfall lighter and less dangerous.

Still, parts of Virginia and Maryland received between 3 and 5 inches of snow Tuesday, Bruce Sullivan, a meteorologist with the NWS Weather Prediction Center, told the Los Angeles Times. In the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region, most states got at least a few inches of snow Tuesday.

The precipitation caused power outages that became particularly dangerous because of the low temperatures.

In West Virginia, more than 4,000 customers were without power as of Tuesday evening. Appalachian Power said the frigid temperatures made restoring power difficult, but the “sunny skies and moderate temperatures” expected Wednesday would help. Dominion Power reported nearly 2,000 customers without power across Virginia and North Carolina.

Some lake-effect snow could be seen near Michigan and Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and there could be rain on the West Coast. For the most part, however, a break from wintry precipitation in the middle of the week should help things get back to normal. Sullivan said “temperatures will definitely be below normal” Wednesday, but most of the East Coast will be dry.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla