BLOG: Snow On The Way

Here we go...

The storm that we have been talking about all week is now here.  Snow is already accumulating along the beaches.  This snow will spread northwest across the entire state in the next few hours, and this is just the beginning of the storm.  A winter storm warning is in effect from Baltimore County eastward through the Eastern Shore until 6 am tomorrow.  Then, even though the snow will be moving on, the howling winds will remain a major factor through the day tomorrow - with gusts over 40 mph possible, maybe 50 mph along the beaches. 

We have previously discussed that there are multiple pieces of energy with this storm.  Well, those pieces of energy are just now merging into one larger storm offshore of the Carolinas.  That combined storm will only gain more strength as it moves northward, hugging the coast along the way today and then slamming into New England tomorrow.  The worst of the storm will be with the center of it.  Since the center will not cross through Maryland but rather offshore, we will get our worst of the snow as that center is passing by - this afternoon into tonight.  That's also when the winds will really start to crank.  Even though the snow will move northward and come to an end tomorrow, the high winds will continue through the day.  This is going to create blowing and drifting of snow, which would lower visibility. 

There are blizzard warnings out all the way down into the shores of South Jersey.  If our winds really do get that high, that could lead to possible blizzard conditions around here.  We reviewed this a lot last season, but remember that blizzard doesn't just imply heavy snow...rather any snow amounts combined with high winds to the point that visibility is below 1 mile with winds over 30 mph. 

In all, here's what we are thinking:
-snow spreads northwestward through the late morning
-heaviest rounds of snow this afternoon and tonight
-snow ends early tomorrow...although flurries and snow showers may pass through during the afternoon
-snowfall amounts range dramatically from east to west:
 6-10" from Cecil County over through the Eastern Shore
 3-6" for most of I-95 corridor backing into Frederick County
 1-3" west of that (although the higher peaks of the eastern slopes in Allegany and Garrett Counties may get up to 4")

-winds increase through the day
-winds reach highest tonight and tomorrow
-gusts could pass 40 mph, but maybe 50 mph along the coast

The weather for us will start to quiet down on Tuesday as the storm starts to weaken and move away from the United States.  Then, a warm up will kick in for the second half of the week.  We could hit 50 degrees by Friday. 

Stay tuned, we will be updating WJZ.com and WJZ frequently during the storm.  We will also have a tv side special from 11 am - noon before we get into football.