Wintry Times Ahead

Friday morning

The headline looks like hype but is certainly true (just by looking at the calendar... which I might add... is dated). A storm that has brought hardship and danger to parts of Texas and Arkansas with an assortment of ice and snow will send a swath of snow northeastward today and tonight. Here is a map showing our overall estimates as of 10 a.m. ET. During the morning, thunderstorms broke out in western Virginia. The possibility of convective activity (like thunderstorms) in conjunction with snow suggests there will narrow band in which accumulations are much greater than the average expectations shown on this kind of map. The thunderstorms can also be a sign of enhanced rain fall southeast of the snow area.

On the other hand, we have seen cases in which bands of thunderstorms developed, and this then helped reduce precipitation to the north and west because there is less upward motion, compensating for the intense upward motion we find in thunderstorms.

In the morning video, I discuss the huge temperature variations across the Northeast and explain what a Sunday to Monday storms will do. Although the I-95 corridor from D.C. to Boston should wind up with rain from this, there could be a disrupted period characterized by snow and ice at the beginning.