DELMARVA FORECAST
Saturday night: Clear and cold. Lows in the upper teens and low 20s. Wind chills around 10°F.
Sunday: Mostly sunny early, then increasing clouds. Cold. Breezy. Winds from the west 10-15 mph could gust to 25 mph at times. Highs in the mid 30s. Wind chills in the mid 20s.
Sunday night: Snow developing after midnight. Snow could become heavy at times by sunrise. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of snow 70 percent.
Monday: *Winter Storm Watch* Snow likely, heavy at times, with some rain mixing in during the midday, especially south. Several inches of snow likely. Highs in the mid 30s. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.
Tuesday: Lingering snow showers early, then becoming mostly sunny. Cold. Windy. Highs in the low 30s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Cold. Windy. Highs in the low to mid 30s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Cold. Windy. Highs in the low 30s.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Cold. Highs in the mid 30s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 46°F. Normal low: 29°F.
*Winter Storm Watch for Monday*
We're into an extended period of cold and wintry weather on Delmarva that will feature a significant winter storm on Monday.
Arctic high pressure remains in control on Saturday night, making for clear skies and cold overnight lows in the upper teens and low 20s. A westerly breeze will push wind chills down to around 10°F.
Sunday will start off mostly sunny, with clouds increasing in the afternoon as our winter storm makes its final approach to Delmarva. Temperatures will only reach the mid 30s, and a gusty west wind will keep wind chills in the mid to upper 20s.
Then we get into our main event winter storm on Monday.
Confidence continues to be high that we will see wintry weather on Delmarva starting late Sunday night and continuing through Monday before ending late Monday night or Tuesday morning.
A *Winter Storm Watch* has been posted for all of the WBOC viewing area, in effect from 4 p.m. Sunday through 7 a.m. Tuesday. A Winter Storm Watch means that significant winter weather is likely within 48 hours.
We are also confident that much of Delmarva will see at least 3 to 5 inches of snow, with some locations seeing more.
Snow will likely start very early on Monday morning, with snow likely across the entire peninsula by the Monday morning commute, which could be treacherous in areas.
Snow could become heavy at times during the day. Some uncertainties in just how much snow we see will come as we are expecting some rain or sleet to mix in with the snow around the middle of the day, especially to the south. Any rain mix will significantly suppress snow accumulation. Rain mix is most likely on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and possible on the Lower Eastern Shore.
We're also watching temperatures closely, which will be near freezing over most of Delmarva. While falling snow and/or rain will act to cool the air, there will possibly be a little bit of warmer air up the eastern side of the low at the center of the winter storm. This will be most likely on the Lower Eastern Shore and south.
So for now, we're thinking that the band of heaviest snow is most likely to bring the heaviest snow to the Maryland Midshore and Delaware, where 4 to 8 inches of snow or more are possible. That band of 4 to 8 inches could even spread farther south to include much of the U.S. Route 50 corridor. There is the possibility of a band of 6 to 10+ inches just north of where any rain mixes in, which looks to be along a stretch including Cambridge, Federalsburg, Bridgeville, to the Lewes area.
Changes are still possible to this forecast, especially as we continue to refine where we think rain will mix with snow, so stay with WBOC on television, on the radio, on our Facebook page, and of course on the WBOC News and Weather apps.
Then winter weather doesn't end. Starting Tuesday, we'll have mostly sunny skies, but temperatures will be cold and breezy for the rest of the week with afternoon highs only in the low to mid 30s and overnight lows in the teens and 20s.
