DELMARVA FORECAST
Monday night: Increasing clouds. Seasonably cool. Lows in the mid to upper 20s.
Tuesday: Cloudy in the morning, then snow, heavy at times, in the afternoon and evening. Heaviest snow in central Delmarva with lesser amounts north and south. Highs in the low to mid 30s. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
Tuesday night: Snow changing to rain. Lows in the low 30s. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
Wednesday: Rain likely, with some wintry mix possible at times. Highs near 40°F. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Thursday: Rain likely in the morning, then mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Cooler. Highs in the low 40s.
Saturday: Rain in the afternoon and evening. Highs around 50°F. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday: Rain likely. Highs in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 80 percent.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 47°F. Normal low: 28°F.
We're on the eve of yet another round of significant winter weather on Delmarva.
On Monday night, skies start off mostly clear, with increasing clouds late. Lows fall into the mid to upper 20s.
On Tuesday, skies will be cloudy early, but snow won't begin until midday or early afternoon. The morning commute should be just fine, but don't forget the snow brush, ice scraper, and possibly a small snow shovel and the evening commute could be treacherous, as the snow could become heavy at times.
Given that temperatures throughout this event will be marginal, within only a few degrees of freezing, this is a situation where just a one degree change in temperatures could cause big changes in snow accumulations. By the time the snow changes to rain Tuesday night, we're expecting six to eight inches of snow or more in a swath through Central Delmarva, including Salisbury. North of Dover, snow amounts will be limited by being farther away from the storm, while south of Princess Anne, snow amounts will be limited by rain and sleet mixing in with the snow.
Then will be a rather heavy, wet snow on much of Delmarva, so there will be a hazard for downed tree limbs and power lines that could cause isolated power outages.
By Wednesday morning, all snow is expected to have changed over to rain, and rain is likely throughout the day, however as temperatures only slowly rise through the 30s, I don't want to rule out some wintry mix at times, especially on the Midshore and Delaware.
Rainy weather will continue through the Thursday morning commute before ending by afternoon, with mild temperatures in the 50s, so any snow we get Tuesday and Tuesday night won't stick around for very long.
Friday will be a mostly sunny, but chilly, day with highs in the low 40s.
Then rain returns for much of the weekend.
While travel conditions could be treacherous at times for the rest of this week, much of this weather is beneficial, as we do need rain as drought conditions persist, and this snow will melt quickly and have a chance to soak into the ground.
