DELMARVA FORECAST
Friday night: Clear skies early, then increasing clouds. Lows in the mid to upper 20s.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Up to 0.1" of rain possible. Mild. Highs near 50°F. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a wintry mix changing to snow late. Light accumulations of up to 1-3" possible by Monday morning on the Midshore and Delaware and lesser amounts south.
Highs in the mid to upper 30s. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Monday: Becoming mostly sunny and very cold. Windy. Highs in the upper 20s.
Tuesday: Afternoon snow possible. Cold. Highs in the low 20s. Chance of snow 30 percent.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold. Breezy. Highs around 20°F.
Thursday: Partly cloudy and not as cold. Highs in the low 30s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 45°F. Normal low: 28°F.
As a non-arctic high pressure has built into the Mid-Atlantic today, we've finally seen some more seasonable temperatures, which would have been even warmer if it weren't for the snowpack still on the ground from last week's winter storm.
With winds from a southerly direction, we'll keep mild temperatures in the forecast for Saturday. As Friday night starts off clear, clouds will increase after midnight with skies becoming mostly cloudy Saturday morning. A weak frontal system will cross Delmarva on Saturday and bring scattered, mainly light showers to the peninsula. The day won't be a washout, though, as we're only expecting about 0.1" of total rainfall.
A secondary low will develop Sunday and will bring our next round of wintry weather to Delmarva, but nothing like what we saw on January 6.
As of Friday afternoon, we're calling for 1-3" of snow, mainly on the Maryland Midshore and Kent County, Delaware. Higher snowfall accumulations will be north of these areas. Sussex County, Delaware, and the Lower Eastern Shore will see more of a wintry mix, and accumulations should be limited to maybe one inch of wet snow.
While Sunday won't be a major wintry weather event, given how cold it has been recently, snow is likely to accumulate on road surfaces, especially bridges and overpasses, so travel could be a bit slippery.
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.
We are still monitoring another possible winter storm sometime around Tuesday or Wednesday. Given the latest forecast guidance, we're not confident we'll see significant winter weather on Delmarva, but with the frigid temperatures expected, we will need to monitor the forecast closely, especially if you live on the Lower Eastern Shore and in Accomack County, which would be poised to receive the most snow if the storm occurs.
Watch this space for updates.
