Big snow? Don’t count on it, says weather service

Something is going fall from the skies tomorrow.

Will it be rain? Snow? Both?

That is the question meteorologist were attempting to answer Sunday evening.

In case you haven’t heard, a snowstorm is bearing down on the megalopolis of New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. Blizzard watches were posted Sunday afternoon by the National Weather Service for many of these areas.

In Prince William, a winter weather advisory will go into effect at 10 p.m. Sunday and last through 6 p.m. Monday. In Stafford County, no watches or warnings at all. 

That should give you some idea of where we are in the grand scheme of things as this major storm is setting up — right on the outskirts.  One weather forecaster said this is “not our storm,” much to the dismay of snow lovers who are seeming jealous of portions of the Northeast U.S. coastline that could see 20 inches or more of snow from this storm.

More to the Story: 

 

Virginia transportation officials warn drivers next three rush hours will be hairy 

 

Virginia Railway Express will operate on full schedule Monday

 

VRE Plans to Operate Full Schedule 1/26. Final decision will me made 1/26 … https://t.co/uf8plE6dO4

— VRE (@VaRailXpress) January 26, 2015

For us, what falls will begin as rain Monday morning, with some snowflakes mixing in — maybe. And the temperatures Monday morning will be on the rise, and that will help to keep precipitation wet, not frozen, according to the weather service.

By afternoon, that’s when things could get interesting for our region. A clipper storm moving from the Midwest, and that’s the one that will give us rain in the morning. Then, that storm will track across southern Virginia and move off the Atlantic coast. When that happens, a larger storm will form – the storm that is expected to bury the Northeast under snow – could also bring us some snow, according to the weather service.

Colder air is expected to move in as the storm moves off the coast. Forecasters stress the timing of the changeover from rain to snow is important, as some areas in our region could see about two inches of snow while other areas could see none at all. That’s not a good forecast for snow lovers, but one that’s great for those who forgot to pick up a snow shovel this season.

Generally, forecasters state, the colder air is expected to bring some snow Monday afternoon to the Baltimore area and areas to the south and west of Washington, D.C. People living in Southern Maryland aren’t expected to see any snow at all, according to the weather service.

We think calling this forecast mixed, clustered bag of uncertainty is permissible. I’m sure there are a couple other choice words some might call it.

We’ll be watching to see what falls as well as update you on school closings for Monday.