There were some very impressive snowfall totals from the northern Shenandoah Valley to northern Maryland with some locations picking up 6 to 8 inches! I imagine that everyone wants to know if there will be school tomorrow or if the Federal Government will be open.
Tonight (Round Two – Ice Storm):
- After a lull in the Sleet or Freezing Rain this evening the next wave of low pressure will move across the Washington Region during the overnight hours. Freezing Rain will pick up in intensity during the overnight hours and temperatures will hold at or below freezing for a large portion of the Metropolitan Area. Treacherous travel conditions can be expected with upwards of a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation possible on trees and power lines. Scattered power outages are possible.
Monday:
- Temperatures will eventually warm above freezing during the mid-morning hours on Monday, especially from the interstate 95 corridor, points east. Forecasting exactly when this occurs is very difficult and the damage to secondary roadways will have been done.
- *Untreated roadways will be very slick and I expect widespread school closings. As far as the Federal Government is concerned, if OPM doesn’t close it, I think a delayed opening with Liberal Leave policy is pretty likely.
Tuesday (Round Three – Accumulating Snow):
- On Tuesday, a third and final wave of low pressure will move across the Washington Region. Colder air will move in aloft allowing this event to fall as snow versus the dreaded sleet and freezing rain.
- The latest data suggests the possibility of snow accumulations running between one and three inches with some locations picking up four. Stay Tuned…
4 to 8″ totals look good to me, in fact, this storm doesn’t look much different than what happened in northern Maryland on Sunday. Many spots along Interstate 70 picked up 6 to 8″ of snow! Enjoy your snow day! The National Weather Service will upgrade our region to Winter Storm Warnings soon or tonight. They like to wait until the last minute. Philadelphia already put their entire area under a Winter Storm Warning for 3 to 5″ of snow. The criteria in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and NYC is that 4″ or more requires a Winter Storm Warning.
When I looked at the latest NAM and GFS it’s looking like 0.5 to 0.75 inches precip. or 4-8 inches of snow on Tuesday west of the city. Am I reading something wrong?