BLOG: Winter Storm On The Way
The warmup is underway, but a winter storm is still on the way.
What a difference today compared to the last few days. We started out at 8 degrees yesterday morning and only topped out in the 20s. Today, we started out at 25 degrees and went all the way up to 45! Yesterday morning we dropped to 8 degrees at BWI-Marshall, today we only went down to 25 degrees. That is not only about 15 degrees warmer than yesterday, it also puts us back above average. But even though we have gotten rid of the deep freeze, there is still a winter storm threat coming our way tomorrow.
This is a big storm coming up from the south with a lot of moisture. Although it will start early tomorrow (probably sometime between 4-7 AM), the strongest part of this storm won't really get going until late tomorrow afternoon (between 3-7 PM) and will continue into tomorrow night. That's when the center of the storm passes us, creating a few hours of heavy moisture while drawing in the colder air northwest of us. That's also when the WINTER STORM WATCH will be in effect...because that's when we will get the worst of this storm.
This is also a complicated storm, with a wide variety of forecasts. We have said it before, but where you are will determine what you get. We are trying to simplify it by breaking the storm down through a timeline of different zones across the state. Zone 1 would be northwest of I-95 and the city. Zone 2 would be southeast of I-95 all the way down to a line cutting through middle Delaware, back to the south of St. Michael's and then south of PG County. Zone 2 would include Baltimore City, DC, and Annapolis. Zone 3 is the southern Eastern Shore. Now, let's break down those zones with the different timelines.
4AM - 10AM
Zone 1: Snow to mix
Zone 2: Mix to Rain
Zone 3: Mainly Rain
10AM - 4PM
Zone 1: Snow/Ice/Rain Mix
Zone 2: Mainly Rain
Zone 3: Rain
4PM - Overnight
Zone 1: Accumulating snow. Possibly 3-6"
Zone 2: Mix over to Accumulating snow. Generally a coating - 3" will accumulate when we get a couple of hours where it comes down heavily.
Zone 3: Rain/Snow Mix
The storm will get out of here early Thursday morning. It will dry out Thursday before another storm moves this way from the northwest Friday into Saturday. There could be some snow showers with this one, but it doesn't have as much moisture. Temperature-wise, we will be in the 30s behind tomorrow's storm and creep up to near 40 this weekend. But another shot of very cold air comes our way sometime next week.
