Southwest Airlines employees guide a plane into the gate at Midway International Airport in Chicago on Tuesday, February 26. Back-to-back storms have hit the Great Plains, which is still digging out from last week's weather. Are you experiencing the storm? If it's safe, share your photos.
(CNN) -- It will be a messy weekend in the Northeast and the Deep South as the massive weather system that walloped 20 states with a snowstorm rolls off toward the Atlantic Ocean.
A winter storm is expected to deposit up to 10 inches of snow in isolated pockets of western Massachusetts, and 6 inches to a foot in parts of southern Vermont and New Hampshire, and central Maine.
This is not the same storm that blanketed the Great Plains, said CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri, although it is part of the same overall system that spans the country from north to south.
It will be much less intense, he said, and it should not affect the places hardest hit by the blizzard that plastered the Northeast two weeks ago, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
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Boston will likely see a slushy mix of rain and snow that could lead to downed branches and power lines, Javaheri said.
Rain will continue to soak the eastern United States from Washington, D.C., on down, especially Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
"Across the Southeast, some of the rainfall totals are going to be staggering," said CNN Meteorologist Karen McGinnis. Parts of the central Southeast should get 4 to 6 inches of rainfall.
Some snow records
The outgoing system will have made its mark on virtually the entire country from the southwest corner of California to central Maine, leaving its deepest imprint on Kansas.
Wichita saw its second-highest storm snowfall total on record with 14.2 inches over two days, the
said.
The town of Russell in the state's middle lay under a 22 inch layer of white by the time the storm roared by.
Missouri was not far behind, with accumulations of around a foot in some places.
The snow set a record at Kansas City International Airport, with 9 inches falling in a single day. The old record was 5.1 inches set in 2010.
Some businesses and universities shut down Thursday as state officials urged residents to stay off the roads.
The white blanket emptied the streets of Kansas City.
Silver lining
The snowstorm turned out to be a welcome one to many Kansans and many others throughout the Great Plains, who have been suffering a drought for a third straight year.
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and a host of other farm-heavy states have seen crop losses as a result.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture expects those conditions to continue into April, but near-record levels of snowfall will ease the problem and could accelerate the drought's end.
"It snows so infrequently here. Now we've been in a really bad drought for several years; really, really hot summer and just no moisture. So we're thrilled to see snow or ice -- whatever moisture we can get," Wichita resident Kristen Woodburn said.
Ranchers embraced the storm, even though bitter cold snow can be deadly during calving season.
Frank Harper, a Kansas rancher from Sedgwick and the immediate past president of the Kansas Livestock Association, said the storm caused more work for him because he had to bring his calves inside to warm them up.
But he called the snowstorm a blessing for bringing good moisture to the winter wheat.
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City worker Thuan Tran and police officer Christina Batalia help dig out stranded motorist Gary Cook after the area was hit by a snowstorm on February 26 in Overland Park, Kansas.
Wet snow hangs on branches on February 26 in Merriam, Kansas.
Milk shelves are nearly empty at a Kansas City, Missouri, grocery store on February 26, after a snowstorm batters the area again.
Heavy snow covers street signs in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 26.
Tree branches are covered in snow on February 26 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Motorists head home on U.S. 69 on Monday, February 25, in Overland Park, Kansas, during the snowstorm.
About 5 feet of snow piles up February 25 outside CNN iReporter Matthew West's back porch in Canyon Texas, covering up his son's tricycle.
Alan Daniels loads salt trucks at the Overland, Kansas, Park Public Works Department on February 25.
The "Keeper of the Plains" statue is blanketed with snow in Wichita, Kansas, on February 25.
A resident shovels snow as the wind cuts down on visibility during a winter storm in Denver on Sunday, February 24.
Bicycles gather snow during a storm in Denver on February 24.
Twelve to 14 inches of snow fell in northeastern Kansas on Thursday, February 21. However, on Friday, February 22, the sun was out, and this street had been cleared, but many were not. Neighbors worked to clear their driveways while the kids enjoyed playing the deepest snow many of them had ever experienced.
Jackie Arrandondo, 19, is covered with morning snow from head to toe as she waits for a city bus Friday, in Minneapolis. Gusty winds and iced-over roadways made for treacherous Midwest travel Friday as a major winter storm headed east over the Great Lakes. Two deaths have been linked to the storm, including one in a fatal traffic accident in Minnesota.
Shawn Noble skis to work after a winter storm left more than 6 inches of snow on February 22 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Tow truck driver Tyson House helps trucker Gary Wheeler of Kansas City on Friday, February 22, in Greensburg, Kansas, after his truck slid off the road. The huge snowstorm was moving across the Plains on Thursday.
A worker uses a snowblower to clear a path on February 22 in Greensburg, Kansas.
Tow truck drivers aid a semi on February 22 in Greensburg, Kansas.
A car is stranded in the snow on Highway 135 outside Wichita, Kansas, on Thursday, February 21.
Vehicles drive in single file down Highway 135 outside Wichita on Thursday.
Mark Russell, right, vice president of rules and competition for the PGA Tour, talks with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark as snow and rain suspend play during the first round of the World Golf Championships in Marana, Arizona, on Wednesday, February 20.
Snow covers this cactus during the first round of the World Golf Championships at the Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona, on February 20.
Pedestrians make their way to work through the snow in downtown Wichita, Kansas, on Wednesday, February 20.
Police take care of an accident in Wichita on Wednesday.
Golf fans seek shelter from the snow Wednesday after the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. The tournament was suspended due to the weather.
Snow covers the driving range at Dove Mountain on Wednesday.
Snow covers the clubhouse behind the 18th green during the first round of the tournament at Dove Mountain on Wednesday.
Snow collects around golf balls on the practice putting green on Wednesday.
Golf spectators look for cover as snow comes down.
David Viana of the Real Salt Lake soccer team heads the ball against the New England Revolution during the snowfall on Wednesday in Tucson, Arizona.
Brad Evans of the Seattle Sounders dribbles the ball while playing the New York Red Bulls in Tucson on Wednesday.
Snow blankets Yucca Valley, California, an area that rarely sees snow, on Wednesday.
The sun shines on the fresh snow in Yucca Valley on Wednesday.
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