RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Snow, sleet and freezing rain Saturday and Sunday with impacts lasting into next week.
We started giving you the FIRST ALERT to this last Friday.
New as of Wednesday Night:
Increasing chance of power outages. Models have pushed the storm track northward, potentially giving us some different forms of winter precipitation. Snow could transition to sleet and/or freezing rain Sunday afternoon and evening, creating a glaze of ice. Ice on trees that weigh branches down and fall on powerlines could cause outages. Trees will already be weighed down by snow, add a layer of ice on top and there’s a higher chance of limbs breaking off and falling into power lines.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Buckingham county in effect from Saturday morning until Monday afternoon.
Timing:
This timeline is subject to change depending on the track of the system.
Saturday: Mainly dry with snow starting during the evening. Snow likely overnight. Snow could add up quickly on roads and sidewalks.
Sunday: Moderate to heavy snow continues. Roads could be bad all day. Dangerous to impossible travel expected.
The most recent data shows a higher potential of snow mixing with or changing over to sleet and/or freezing rain on Sunday afternoon and evening. Richmond City, down through Petersburg to the North Carolina/Virginia state line have the highest chance of ice accumulation. Sleet and freezing rain is pink and the purple is snow.
Precipitation should end Sunday night.
Monday: Dangerous to impossible travel continues. Should be dry and sunny, but stay below freezing. Morning temperatures in the teens with highs in the 20s. Not a lot of melting.
Travel trouble could last through mid-week.
Impact:
3 to 12 inches of snow and sleet possible. Lesser amounts of snow farther to the south. The higher amounts could tend to stay to our north.
More specific snow totals for different areas of Central Virginia will become clearer by Thursday.
Ice accumulation is possible if snow transitions to freezing rain or sleet. More ice would mean more power outages.
Roads and sidewalks could be snow and/or ice-covered for several days. Our temperatures could stay below freezing through Wednesday morning.
Setup:
We have a higher-than-normal confidence that this winter storm will happen, in large part due to a strong area of high pressure to our North. An Arctic outbreak over the Northern Plains will funnel very cold air to the Mid-Atlantic.
The limiting factor in Virginia snow is often the cold air. This time around, we will be plenty cold.
We have what is called a “Split Flow” pattern taking shape which is a pattern that we haven’t seen yet this winter. It has historically favored notable winter storms in Virginia.
The Northern Branch of the jet stream should supply ample amounts of cold, arctic air. The Southern Branch of the jet stream should provide ample amounts of moisture.
The interaction of the two branches will be critical in determining whether or not we get a big, fluffy snowstorm or snow that mixes with sleet and freezing rain.
We’ll keep you updated!
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