Synopsis:
It’ll be a mild day as high pressure works in from the West. Readings will be above the seasonal average of 38º under a mix of sun and clouds. A cold front will pass tonight with the thermometer falling to near freezing for highs on Thursday with sunshine dominating.
A disturbance will move in on Thursday night and Friday morning with scattered areas of light snow and rain. A coating to a couple of inches is possible by Friday morning, mainly from the City and to the North and West.
Now on to the weekend. The potential for a heavy precipitation event in the East continues, starting later Saturday and continuing into Sunday. It should start as snow or a mix later Saturday afternoon or evening. An accumulating snow (a few to several inches depending on location) is possible just inland before a mix occurs Saturday night. The latest computer guidance continues to suggests a warm slug of air will work in changing the snow over the rain along the coast and freezing rain or rain inland. But the latest models are now colder, meaning more frozen precipitation is likely inland. A significant accumulation of ice is possible. There is a sign that the two jet streams will not phase, and if so, this will result in a colder solution and a storm track farther to the East.
The storm looks to take a track from the Ohio Valley to very near or just Southeast of the the region on Sunday. Flooding rains are possible where the precipitation stays liquid. There will be an incredibly tight thermal gradient along the East coast. A shift of 50 miles either way would be the difference between mostly rain or mostly snow and ice.
A flash freeze is likely on Sunday as the push of Arctic air works in. Any leftover precipitation may go over to a period of snow on Sunday with accumulations possible. It all depends on how quickly the Arctic air funnels in and how much precipitation is remaining.
To recap: As of right now, it looks like a colder solution resulting in a burst of moderate to heavy snow at the onset of the storm later Saturday and into early Saturday night for much of the area. Then a transition to heavy rain along the coast with the potential of heavy freezing rain inland into Sunday morning. All areas have the chance to go back to an accumulating snow during the day Sunday. Obviously, this is not etched in stone as the storm is still 3 days away.
You know where to find a no hype, no nonsense forecast.
Stay tuned.
Today:
Partly sunny. Highs around 40º. West winds at 10-15mph.
Tonight:
Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s in the City, the teens inland. Northwest winds at 5-10mph.
Thursday:
Sun to clouds. Colder. Highs in the lower to mid 30s.
Friday:
Mostly cloudy with scattered rain or snow showers in the morning. Milder. Highs in the lower 40s.
Saturday:
Morning sun will give way to thickening clouds. Snow will move in during the afternoon or evening. A mix is possible over Southern areas. Highs in the mid 30s.
Sunday:
Heavy rain along the coast. Heavy freezing rain and snow inland. All precipitation will go over to a period of snow during the day. Readings in the 30s & 40s falling below freezing later in the day.