Preliminary, Conservative, Potential Snowfall Accumulations

Ample amounts of moisture with this storm:

• One to Two inches of liquid are possible with this storm system!
  

• If it had been January or mid February we would have been looking at a 15 to 30″ snow storm for all!

• The higher angle of the March sun and urban heat island effects will make this a trickier forecast, however… I believe that this system will still drop 12 to 18″ of snow in some of the outlying areas and higher elevations (details below).

Latest precipitation forecast from the HPC (Image courtesy: NOAA)

Timing & Headlines:

• A mix of light rain and snow will develop Tuesday during the afternoon rush hour.
  

• Light rain and snow across the eastern suburbs will transition over to heavy snow by Noon on Wednesday.

• Heavy snow and high winds will continue throughout the day on Wednesday before tapering off during the late evening.

• There is increasing confidence that 6 to 12 inches of heavy, wet, snow is in the cards for much of the Washington Area with the highest amounts occurring outside of that horrible heat island of Pentagon City, Alexandria, Crystal City and of course the Runway Strip of Washington National Airport (I know… convenience comes at a price during Winter).
  

• Several models have hinted at the possibility of 15 to 18″ of snow across the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge, foothills and even as close in as Leesburg, Warrenton, Frederick, Culpeper and Charlottesville… of course these “possibilities” will be “Now-Casted” (forecasted as they happen) by our cautious media outlets.  

• For now, *the probability is increasing* for a High-Impact Nor’easter to slam the Washington Region with heavy, wet, crippling snow that will likely pull down tree limbs and knock out power. 
  

Let’s Look at some of the Conservative and Apocalyptic Snowfall Accumulation Predictions from the latest Forecast Models:

Conservative Models:  Widespread 6 to 12″

Aggressive Models: 12 to 18″

Translation: Get the snow blowers and shovels ready, go to the store and stock up on food items b/c Wednesday and Thursday are looking like difficult or impossible travel days across this Region.  Stay Tuned!