DC to Deal (NJ), Snow is Real; Shivering Sat+Sun from Sarasota to Sugarloaf!

Good morning atmospheric audience! Wow, that was one of the longer disruptive 2 to 4 inch snowstorm for the I95 than I’ve seen in quite a while. While the 2 to 4″ was confirmed across most of the area, the combination of sleet, freezing rain, and a mix caused hazardous travel and lots of school closings. Some under and over forecasted snow amounts did take place, i.e. DC/Balt wound up getting nearly 4″ vs my forecast of 2″, and the narrow area in N/NE NJ did not materialize. However, north of Lake Winnie (5.8″ in N. Conway to 10.2″ in Carroll) over to Rangeley w 9″, as anticipated the deepening of the low off of the gulf of Maine impacted totals.

OK, let’s get into what’s next. We have a busy seven days, so I’m gonna break this down by each event. First, I’ll cover our tri-state area snow event for tomorrow, followed by the coldest temperatures of the season this weekend, our upcoming thaw (don’t freak winter fans, it’s just a brief reversal from of an arctic blast), followed by New England’s shot at snow next week, and lastly, a brief look at what’s lurking in February.

If you don’t live in the tri-state area, this is not your storm, so scroll down to Coldest Temps of Season, For Now….section. For NJ, especially believe it or not south of 78 down to Baltimore and Northeast over to the five boroughs, this system is a very narrow, landing spot for moderate to heavy snowfall. Without getting too technical this is what’s called a Norlun inverted trough which tends to produce heavy snowfall during a short period of time over a small area. Pinpointing exact towns, and counties is a challenge in normal storms, but this takes it to a whole new level.

From Mannington Twp NE to Monmouth Beach, the counties of Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem are under a Winter Storm Warnings from 4am till 10pm of 4-6″. Don’t be surprised if you hear a neighboring town receiving that amount, yet literally just a couple miles away, just an inch or 2. Where it does snow hard, it’ll accumulate quickly.

Light to moderate snow showers move into SWNJ between 4 and 7 AM. Snow becomes steadier and heavier throughout the tristate area by noon before tapering off before sundown. Lighter accumulations will are expected in NNJ and southern Hudson Valley over to the five boroughs. North of I78 on East, no more than 1 to 3″ should be expected. Temperatures climb into the upper 20s in the northern part of the state and NY, into low 30s in the south. Winds will be blowing out of the NE, eventually rotating out of the NW as the mercury once again tumbles causing potential icy conditions during the evening hours into Saturday morning (details below).

For Upper Hudson Valley, CT and MA, a dusting up to an inch max, but look some snow squalls in the afternoon.

For Balt/DC, you’ll be waking up to snowfall which could accumulate up to 3-5″ (how about that for back to back measurable snow!)! For Millsboro, DE expect a mix of snow (1-2″), sleet and rain.

Coldest Temps of Season, For Now….

Keep an eye out for Saturday snow squalls across the Northeast. Not much of a change from my last post on plunging temps. But here’s the latest lows and windchills for this weekend, along with selected cities over the next 7 days (notice the warmup as the ridge rebuilds, briefly). Enjoy it, as it won’t last. Refer to my last post for what are typical normal temps this time of year.

Iguana Gonna Falla!

Frigid weekend down in the Sunshine State, Sunday the coldest day. Look for Freeze Watches, and falling Iguanas, with temps dropping into the 20’s for lows on the Panhandle, 30s in Tampa, and 40s on the SE coast! All you snow birds will shake it off but true Floridians will be screaming Ice Age!

While temps do warm a bit next week, multiple shots of snow, especially in New England are possible. Light event Tuesday, moderate on Thursday and next weekend a more formable storm (ice event?) may be brewing. In the long range, a lot is on the table for February. Wide spread colder than normal temps (look for a frigid start to the month, yes, the ground hog may burrow in bed and screw the shadow game this year), and rumors of storms right into March is what I’m looking at. Thanks for reading, take care driving in NJ/DC today, bundle up this weekend (check the pipes, keep the cabinets under sink opened, drip the faucets, check on elderly neighbors and watch for falling iguanas), enjoy the games (weather won’t be a factor for any), and most of all, remember weather never sleeps!