The Student News Site of Richard Montgomery High School

The Tide

The Student News Site of Richard Montgomery High School

The Tide

The Student News Site of Richard Montgomery High School

The Tide

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Snow predictions for Tuesday storm

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The following update is from DC Severe Winter Weather:

Update [2/8, 10:00 PM]:

Final Call for Tuesday Snow Forecast: The rain currently overspreading the area will turn to snow overnight between midnight and 3 AM. Due to warm temperatures, accumulations by morning should be around a coating to two inches. Snowfall will come in bursts and lulls during the day, with temperatures slowly creeping up to the mid 30’s.Timing: 

10 PM-2 AM: Rain, mixing with snow. Temperatures 35-40

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2 AM to 7 AM: On and off snow. Temperatures 31-35

7 AM to 1 PM: Snow, range of intensities. Temperatures 32-36

1 PM to 5 PM: Snow, range of intensities. Temperatures 33-38

5 PM to 10 PM: Snow, tapering after 10 PM. Temperatures 31-35

Due to the convective nature of this event, similar to summer thunderstorm activity, there is very high boom/bust potential. If a strong snow band develops over an area and spins in place they could receive dramatically more snow as temperatures are forced to 32 degrees. If an area stays dry during the day Tuesday, the temperature could spike up to 35-40 and end any shot for real accumulation. Our numbers are just a guess and highly likely to be either too high or too low in different areas. 

Take a look at the accumulation map above. (Please excuse the unusually low quality–our artist is AWOL). We expect around 1-2″ south of DC with 2-4″ north of it and 4-8″ in northern Maryland. The circled area is where isolated spots could receive up to 6-10″. Impacts: Roads could become snow covered and treacherous after morning, especially in the northern suburbs. Inside the city and probably in the near in suburbs, roads will be more wet than white throughout much of the day but that could change if heavier rates develop. Many schools north of the city will delay or close Tuesday. In areas that get pounded by heavy wet snow, scattered power outages are possible along with more magor travel impacts. We will try to pinpoint these areas once they become apparent.


 

Original Post [2/8, 2:00 PM]:

Expect rain to spread over the area Monday evening turning to snow overnight as temperatures dip near freezing. Moderate to possibly heavy snow is likely during the early morning and on and off during the day Tuesday. Snow may continue through Tuesday night. Total accumulations are likely to be limited by fairly warm surface temperatures.

DC itself is likely to stay above freezing the whole time, while the Northwest suburbs should hover around 31-33. We expect around 1″ of slush inside of DC, mostly on grass, with 2-4″ to the immediate north and 4-8″ in northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. Very little accumulating snow is expected south of DC. Most accumulations should be on grass and trees around the city but in Northern MD roads will be snow covered and treacherous Tuesday. Due to the very small size of the feature we are tracking as well as warm temperatures, confidence for this storm is low and boom/bust scenarios need to be considered.

Right now, we are most likely looking at school closures in Northern MD with lesser impacts to the south. Montgomery County is a tough call due it’s position just to the north of DC. Closure, on time, and delay are all on the table for Tuesday. It’s not out of the question that impacts could carry over into Wednesday, especially in northern MD.

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