DELMARVA FORECAST
Thursday night: Cloudy early with a few light snow showers, then clearing after midnight. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of snow 20 percent.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Not as cold. Highs in the low 40s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the afternoon and evening. Mild. Highs near 50°F. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a few changing to snow late. Light accumulations of up to an inch or two possible by Monday morning. Highs in the upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
Monday: Becoming mostly sunny and very cold. Highs in the upper 20s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, windy, and cold. Highs in the low 20s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold. Highs in the low to mid 20s.
Thursday: Partly cloudy and cold. Highs in the mid 20s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 45°F. Normal low: 28°F.
We're going to see some milder temperatures looking ahead to the weekend, then a cold snap next week that will bring the coldest air of the season so far.
A clipper system is passing to our north. On Delmarva, we've seen skies turn cloudy with occasional light snow showers that will continue into Thursday evening. However, no significant effects on travel are expected.
The clipper clears late Thursday night and skies clear after midnight as high pressure briefly builds in. Skies will be sunny Friday morning and continue mostly sunny into Friday afternoon as temperatures reach the low 40s, which are still below normal, but closer than they've been in quite some time.
A cold front will approach on Saturday, bringing chances for scattered showers. Not much rain is expected, but any location on Delmarva could see up to 0.1" of total rainfall.
Guidance is suggesting a secondary low could develop off the Outer Banks late on Sunday which could wrap up this weekend's precipitation as some snow late Sunday into early Monday. Variation in the models is diminishing as they get into more agreement, but on Delmarva, we'll again be on the knife-edge of rain and snow. Light accumulations of 1 to 2 inches of snow are possible on Sunday night.
Behind Sunday night's snow, a very cold Arctic high settles into the Mid-Atlantic, bringing sunshine and the coldest air of the season so far. Be prepared for daytime highs only in the 20s and overnight lows in the single digits Monday through Thursday.
Longer-range guidance is suggesting a significant wintry storm late next week. This is too far away to pin down any details as of Thursday evening, but watch this space for updates over the next week.
