This time last year, as I'm sure you'll remember, we were all bracing for SNOWMAGEDDON as a massive winter storm and blizzard was taking aim on the mid-Atlantic. Little did we know we were about to get the first of TWO major winter storms within one week. (Kinda like what is happening in New England this year, except they haven't had much break from big snows since the Christmas storm!) Okay, so we're not going to see that happen, at least not this week. The TPIndex for this storm is:
5
I don't think this one is going to be a big deal south of the MD/PA border… north and east into PA has a greater chance of heavier icing. Precipitation is going to start later tonight as a mix and continue overnight. It will convert over to rain by mid-morning as temperatures are expected to be around freezing overnight and then into the 40s during the day on Saturday. There will be a glaze of ice on the roads, and whatever might melt today will be frozen again by morning, so if you have stuff to do in the morning, allow extra time and drive carefully.
Now… looking at next week, it could be interesting. First up, there's a system in the Pacific Northwest that will swing down into the south over the weekend and then make its way up our way late Monday. Since this storm is probably going to track along the Appalachians, we will probably end up with some sort of mix to rain type of precipitation. Then, as we pass mid-week, there's an increasing chance for snow heading into next weekend. As we know all too well, there is a lot of history around that week of February. When we get big snows, they always seem to be around this time. It's WAY WAY too early to say that is what will happen, but some forecasters are saying the late-week storm system coming up next week is going to shape up to be a substantial winter storm for the region and up into the Northeast (again!)
Photo credit: Jobi Westhoven
