DELMARVA PENINSULA - Our active winter season continues this week with our next significant winter storm of the season arriving by Tuesday afternoon.
*Winter Storm Watches* are up for nearly all of Delmarva for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. A Winter Storm Watch means that there is a moderate level of confidence that significant winter weather is expected within 48 hours.
As this event gets closer, if confidence increases, the Winter Storm Watch will be upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning.
A storm system will approach Tuesday morning from the west along a boundary between cold air to the north, and milder air to the south.
We're expecting light snow to develop by mid-afternoon Tuesday, overspreading all of Delmarva by late afternoon.
Through Tuesday night, we're expecting to see all snow, except on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where rain is likely to mix with snow at times. Snowfall rates could at times exceed one inch per hour, and it will be in these areas that we see the highest snowfall.
Our current forecast has much of the Maryland Midshore and Delaware seeing the highest snowfall totals of 4 to 8 inches of snow or more. This includes Easton, Dover, and Milford.
Lesser amounts of 2 to 4 inches are forecast for extreme northern Delmarva, as well as the Lower Eastern Shore and southern Sussex County. This includes most of Dorchester County, Salisbury, Laurel, Pittsville, Parsonsburg, Selbyville and West Ocean City.
A mix of rain and snow is limiting the snowfall forecast to 1 to 2 inches over most of Dorchester County, southern Worcester County, and northern Accomack County. Much of Virginia's Eastern Shore will see less than one inch of slush or just plain rain.
Along the immediate coast (along Coastal Highway), locally lower amounts of snow are a possibility due to the proximity to the ocean.
In addition to the usual travel troubles that come with winter weather, given temperatures only a few sides of freezing, this will be a relatively wet, heavy snow. Downed power lines and tree branches are a possibility with this kind of snow.
This snow is not likely to stick around for long, with warmer temperatures and rain in the forecast later this week.
Stay with WBOC for the latest information on this next round of winter weather on Delmarva.