I'd like to show you all some of the trends I've been noticing since Sunday morning.
Below is the 1/17/16 morning 0z GFS for 6z Saturday 1/23/16. One map shows the upper atmosphere, the other shows the precipitation line. It shows a robust snow storm reaching the NYC and Boston metro areas with heavy snow by noon on Saturday 1/23/16. DC was all rain at the time and there is no high pressure over Nova Scotia. According to that run, the storm would have been in a prime location for a major snowstorm for areas 50 miles south of NYC, and as far north as Portland, ME.
Below this is the 1/18/16 morning 0z GFS for 6z Saturday 1/23/16. Again, one map shows the upper atmosphere, the other shows the precipitation. Look where the low is now. It's further south. In fact, it's much further south than the run shown above. The system is also 6mb weaker than the system shown during the 1/17/16 0z GFS for 6z Saturday. On top of that, there's also a high 200 miles north of Maine on this run.
This change in the model shows that the storm may be further south than we initially believed because of a weaker system and a stronger high building over eastern Canada.
Now let's look at this morning's 0z GFS run for the same time on Saturday 1/23/16. There is no high over northern Maine, but the system is even weaker than the previous model run. What I'm saying is that for this storm to push further north, it needs to be much stronger. It needs to be stronger to reach New England like it initially showed us on Sunday morning. Places like DC and Philly will get the brunt of this storm, but for it to hit places like Boston, Hartford, Providence, and possibly even NYC at the level it will hit the Mid-Atlantic, the storm needs to increase in strength.
This storm has been suppressed (decreased in strength) for a number of days now. The high placement shown on Monday was initially worrying for snow lovers in New England, but now what's worrying is the strength of the system. This storm is going to give the Mid-Atlantic states significant snow, but for places like NYC, Boston, and Hartford, the storm needs to gain strength and not dip so far south over the next couple of runs. I'm not sure that will happen given the model trends over the last few days.