7:00 AM | **First significant snow of the season on Wednesday**
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Mostly cloudy, cooler than yesterday, highs in the mid 50’s
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, turning colder late, chance for rain or a mixture of rain and snow towards morning, lows in the mid-to-upper 30’s
Wednesday
Rain or a mixture of precipitation in the morning should change to snow from northwest-to-southeast during the mid-day and afternoon hours, noticeably colder, highs in the upper 30's
Wednesday Night
Snow ending during the evening, breezy, cold, total accumulations of 1-3 inches in and around the District, 3-6 inches in the northern and western suburbs, a coating to an inch in areas just to the south and east of DC, lows in the upper 20's
Thursday
Mostly cloudy, breezy, cold, a few morning snow showers likely, near 40 degrees
Friday
Mostly sunny, cold, mid-to-upper 30’s
Saturday
Partly sunny, still cold, low 40’s
Sunday
Partly sunny, milder, mid 50’s
Discussion
The first significant snowfall of the season is on the way for the DC metro area and much of the Mid-Atlantic region. Low pressure will develop over the eastern Gulf of Mexico later today and intensify as it tracks northeastward along the east coast on Wednesday. The low is expected to pass just east of New Jersey on Wednesday evening before reaching the New England coastal waters late Wednesday night. This coastal storm will have a big impact on the interior Mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday and Wednesday night resulting in rather typical fashion in this region of generating more snow to the north and west and less snow to the south and east.
Precipitation should overspread the region from the southwest before dawn. Precipitation should start off as rain or a mixture of rain and snow before changing to all snow from northwest-to-southeast during the mid-day and afternoon hours. The last area to change over to snow will be down at the Eastern Shore and they can expect the least amount of snow (coating to an inch). Northerly winds are forecast to increase to 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday with gusts to 25 or 30 mph possible. The snow will be of the heavy, wet variety.
As far as road conditions are concerned, initially the snow will have trouble sticking thanks to the recent round of warm weather. The worst driving conditions are likely to occur during the late afternoon and early evening hours when the effectiveness of the sun diminishes (yes, even on a cloudy day) and temperatures drop to near freezing. A couple of other notes, yesterday was indeed a record-breaker at DCA with a high of 74 degrees. Also, looking ahead, signs point to a break in the weather pattern as we begin December with above-normal temperatures quite likely for awhile.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/jOKOccwZYy8