As a winter storm takes aim at metro Detroit, communities are bracing for heavy snow that’s expected to start this afternoon.

The primary concerns from the next storm will be icy conditions, especially in northwestern New Jersey. Hundreds of school districts delayed openings or are closed on Wednesday. More school schedule changes could be announced for Thursday morning with the next shot of winter weather.

While much of the mid-Atlantic was digging out from a winter storm that brought heavy snow to the Washington, D.C., area, a second storm is expected to follow, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain along a more northerly track from Colorado to Maine.

Around 2:30 p.m., some snow was showing up on weather radar in the Garden State, but a dry layer of air in the lower atmosphere was causing the snow to evaporate before reaching the ground. That’s a phenomenon known as virga. Shortly before 4 p.m., light snow was reported in parts of Cape May County, including Wildwood and Cape May.

Another series of winter storms swept across wide areas of the U.S., bringing heavy snow, ice, and cold temperatures on Tuesday, February 11. In Delaware and surrounding areas, accumulated snow and low visibility were reported.