Round 2? Eastern US Braces For Two Winter Storms

Round 2? Eastern US Braces For Two Winter Storms

A wintry outbreak appears to be ongoing in the eastern US as millions of folks in Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states prepare for two more winter storms expected this week. 

AccuWeather forecasters expected a wintry mix Wednesday night into Thursday and a second storm could produce accumulating snow Friday night into Saturday.

“The energy for the first storm is moving onshore along the Pacific coast on Monday, and if that catches up to the front a certain way, there could be a narrow, sneaky zone of 3 inches of snow from parts of the Tennessee Valley to the lower mid-Atlantic coast in the Wednesday night to Thursday time frame,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

Rayno warned, “this isn’t the only storm we have to watch this week.” He said a larger storm would develop in the Southern states and potentially move northward towards Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states and collide with “another fresh injection of Arctic air” between Friday and early Saturday.

The next round of cold air will keep average temperatures in New York City well below a 30-year average through the end of the month. This means heating demand will rise and put a bid under natural gas prices. 

So far this month, natgas prices linked to Henry Hub contracts have jumped as much as 36% on cold weather and snowstorms. 

Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior US oil/gas analyst Vincent Piazza was overly bullish on natgas for the remainder of the month. He wrote in a note Tuesday: 

Weather across most of the US over the next 8-14 days should be more bullish for Henry Hub prices, yet the rally in natural gas production is pushing them below our bearish view around $4 per million BTUs. Physical-market conditions remain somewhat clouded during heating season, and our confidence in the trajectory of the winter strip persists. Still, levels below $4 seem pessimistic, compared with our negative stance when prices surpassed $6 in 4Q. January and February remain crucial for draws, and operators’ capital discipline in 2022 isn’t likely to drive outsized growth in gas volume.

Last week, natgas prices recorded their largest weekly gains since November. We suspect as temperatures remain frigid and the prospects for additional winter storms to batter the eastern US, a bid will stay under energy prices this month.

Tyler Durden Tue, 01/18/2022 – 21:50