EDITOR’S NOTE: TheBAYNET.com has subscribed to a new weather service. The following article comes from weather.dtn.com and was provided by Jim Meikle, senior energy team meteorologist for dtn.com.
The area of low pressure moving through the Carolinas will redevelop off the North Carolina coast this evening. This will continue to intensify into a major gale center as it tracks east-northeastward overnight. This will continue to spread precipitation eastward and northeastward today, reaching the coast and Delmarva Peninsula and northward into central New Jersey through the afternoon.
Heavy snow is expected across all but southeastern and coastal areas where rain is expected. Snow over western and southwestern portions of Virginia will mix with or change to a period of freezing rain this afternoon into early evening where ice accretion of 0.25 to 0.50 inches is expected.
Roanoke to Blacksburg areas and points south will be the favored areas with highest amounts south and southwest of Roanoke. A wintry mix will be possible for a time between I-81 and I-95. Freezing rain and ice will change back to snow through the overnight hours in southwest Virginia, with the southeastern part of Virginia remaining rain through the overnight hours.
Rainfall totals in the southwest before changing back over to snow will be in the 0.75-1.00 inch range with totals 1.00-1.50 inches for the southeast, with locally heavier amounts to 1.75 inches being possible as well. Highest snowfall totals will run through northern Virginia into Maryland eastward through the Delmarva Peninsula, where 10-15 inches will be possible through daybreak Saturday.
Locally heavier amounts to 16-20 inches will also be possible. Amounts will taper off to the north with the northern portions of New Jersey seeing 2-4 inch accumulations. Accumulations down through central and back through western Virginia will run in the 8-12 inch range but again higher amounts are possible with accumulations further south along the North Carolina border running an inch or less.
Winds will also become quite gusty during the afternoon and for the overnight hours across eastern Pennsylvania, eastern Virginia, eastern Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Gusts to 25-35 mph will be likely through these areas with gusts 40 to as high as 50 mph being possible through coastal areas. Temperatures will be near normal across the north with readings 5-10 degrees below normal from Maryland southward.
The gale center off the Virginia Capes will continue to move east-northeastward, but snow will continue across the region on the backside of the system. Any remaining areas of rain in the southeast will change over to snow by the afternoon as cooler air filters in behind the system.
Snow will taper off across the north first during the afternoon and then across the south during the evening with mainly dry conditions being in place across the region after midnight. Additional snowfall totals will be in the 4-8 inch range from western Virginia into northern Virginia, central Maryland and Delaware and 1-4 inches across southern Virginia. Storm total snowfall will be 12-18 inches plus from northwestern Virginia eastward and northeastward through Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula and then rapidly failing off to the north and south, with 2-5 inches up through northern New Jersey.
To the south accumulations will taper off to a few inches along the central North Carolina-Virginia border and to the coast. Highest total snowfall amounts from this storm are expected across eastern Maryland, extreme northeast