Winter Storm Jonas blankets northeast US

Chemical plants, logistics companies and even federal agencies expected to be disrupted by deep snow over the weekend. Snow started falling late Friday afternoon in Washington DC. (ddp USA/REX Shutterstock)

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Winter Storm Jonas was expected to drop up to 3 feet (0.9 metre) of snow in parts of the eastern US from the southern Appalachians through the mid-Atlantic states, meteorologists said on Friday.

Blizzard warnings were in effect in the eastern and coastal regions of the mid-Atlantic from Washington DC to Long Island, New York, according to the National Weather Service. Winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect from the lower Mississippi valley to the mid-Atlantic.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that nearly 75m people in the region could be affected by the storm, which could also bring high winds, coastal storm surges and flooding along with large amounts of snow.

An all-out blizzard was expected to unfold from northern Virginia to southwestern Connecticut, said Elliot Abrams, chief meteorologist for AccuWeather. Snowfall rates from New Jersey to Virginia and West Virginia could reach 1-3 inches/hour (2.5-7.6cm/hour).

AccuWeather said parts of the mid-Atlantic could receive 1-3 feet of snow.

In the run-up to the storm on Friday afternoon, several airlines issued delays and cancellations, according to FlightAware.com.

A total of 2,117 flight delays had been issued as of 15:00 hours Houston time (21:00 GMT), out of a total of 6,112 scheduled across the US. Cancellations reached 2,947 out of a total of 3,319 scheduled flights.

The parts of the east coast expecting the brunt of the storm have declared states of emergency. These include Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 

District of Columbia officials declared a public emergency. Federal offices closed on Friday at 12:00 Washington DC time (17:00 GMT)

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority was curtailing service in preparation of the storm. Its Metrorail and Metrobus service were to be closed all day on Saturday and Sunday.

The National Weather Service expected the storm to hit the area late Friday and into the weekend. Regions likely to receive at least a foot of snow ranged from eastern Kentucky to southern New Jersey, forecasters said.

For petrochemical markets, snow storms can disrupt rail and truck deliveries.

Railroad company Norfolk Southern said on Friday that the storm could disrupt its operations in the southeast, mid-Atlantic and northeast US over the next several days. As a result, customers should expect delays of 24-48 hours.

Winter weather disrupted Norfolk Southern’s operations during a storm in 2015.

Some products could see increased demand because of the snow. De-icers, antifreeze and other fluids make up the second largest end-market for propylene glycol (PG), after unsaturated polyester resins (UPR).

Methanol is also used in antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, although its main derivative uses are formaldehyde, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and acetic acid.

Urea can be used to melt ice.

Natural gas futures were down slightly midday on Friday as US inventories are well supplied in advance of the upcoming storm.

On Thursday, futures rose 2 cents to $2.138/MMBtu, after a US Energy Information Administration (EIA) storage report showed a drawdown from inventories that was smaller than expected.

Natural gas futures remain more than $1.00/MMBtu lower than year-ago levels given that inventories are above historic norms and winter demand has been mainly moderate up until January as a result of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

The east coast is far from the US petrochemical hub along the Gulf Coast, but some plants and refineries are based in the region.

Braskem has the biggest polyolefin presence in the region, with 350,000 tonnes/year polypropylene (PP) capacity in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.

Among refiners, PBF Energy has refineries in Delaware and New Jersey.

Other companies with refineries in the northeast include Delta Air Lines and Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Pennsylvania; and Phillips 66 in New Jersey.

DuPont’s headquarters is in Delaware, one of the states that will be hit by the storm. The headquarters office was open and operating under normal conditions, the company said on Friday.

Additional reporting by Ruth Liao and Christie Moffat

A satellite image shows the storm system forming 22 January 2016 over the eastern US. (NASA/Rex Features)

SMALL PHOTO: A passenger rests on the floor while waiting for her flight on Friday at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC. (Xinhua News Agency/REX Shutterstock)

INSET PHOTO: Cars travel through the snow on Lewisburg Pike in Franklin, Tennessee. (ddp USA/REX Shutterstock)