A cold front is moving our way today and will spread precip in with time. The timing of the cold air and the precip is tricky this time around as a lot, if not all, of the precip will actually occur behind the front.
So, it looks like a quick-hitting shot of some snow will swing through mainly this afternoon and early this evening. In a few North Carolina mountain spots, some rain could be involved initially. Any snow accumulations with this frontal passage will be relatively light, on the order or 1-3." Some folks might not see any accumulation at all.
We will see a brief respite from the action later tonight into tomorrow morning. However, a powerful upper level disturbance will swing through tomorrow afternoon and bring a healthier round of snow to the region. As it stands now, I expect that next round of snow to roll in by tomorrow afternoon, and from there, snow showers will remain in my forecast off and on through the day Wednesday into Wednesday night.
This looks like a healthy snow event. For the mountains of the Virginias, and possibly western Maryland, I would anticipate at least 5-6", and some spots will likely see a good amount more than that in the favored west and northwest facing slopes.
For the mountains of North Carolina, I will say a general 4-6" snowfall looks likely, but as is the case for the neighbors to the north, I would not be surprised to see some spots pick up closer to 8 or 10 inches. For the lower elevations and the less favored locations for upslope snow, amounts will be lighter…possibly 2-4." As you know, these upslope snow events are always tricky and the snow amounts will vary a great deal from location to location.
Another factor in play this week will be lots of cold air. For the NC mountains, highs tomorrow will not make it any higher than the 20s, and many spots will not make it to 20 degrees Wednesday afternoon. Morning lows Wednesday and Thursday morning will be in the single digits in many spots, and some of the higher elevations could dip below 0.
Up in the Virginias and Maryland, look for teens at best for highs Tuesday and Wednesday and lows sub-zero to the lower single digits Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
As we head into the upcoming weekend, temperatures will moderate and temps will likely head back into the above normal range from this weekend into at least part of next week.
Matthew East
Meteorologist
News 14 Carolina
http://www.news14.com
http://mattheweast.blogspot.com