‘monumental snow’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
It’s been snowing a lot lately. The DC Snowpocalypse, or snOMG if you will, was just the start. Even with the three or four storms we’ve had already, Mrs. Nature (she’s the mother) is not done with us yet. With a few more storms already in the forecast, we had to call on our National Weather Service Senior Forecaster Logan Johnson once again. Logan’s WeLoveDC forecast and description of thunder snow was a big hit in December and he’s done it again.
So, Logan…give it to us straight. What does the next few days hold for us?
“A rather fast moving snow storm is expected to impact the Washington, D.C. metro area this evening and tonight. A storm will be quickly developing off the Carolina coast late this afternoon, and send moisture up this way. With cold air at the surface…precipitation will fall in the form of snow, and it is expected that several inches of snow will arrive by Wednesday morning. Temperatures will start out in the middle 30s, which will mean that at first, the snow may have trouble sticking to road surfaces. But as night falls and temperatures drop below freezing by the mid evening hours, expect that the snow will start sticking to all surfaces. While this storm is not expected to be nearly as significant as the major storm in December, it is still expected that several inches, as many as 3 to 7, will fall in the DC metro area. This will cause hazardous travel conditions to develop tonight as road surfaces become snow covered and slippery. Snow will fall most heavily between 8 PM and 1 AM, with rates of up to an inch per hour in the heaviest snow expected. So while this is not expected to be a historic or record breaking storm, its very important for residents to be alert to the threat of hazardous travel conditions developing this evening and tonight, and adjust their plans accordingly.”
Well that makes sense to me. A few storms…no big deal, right? But why have we had soo many storms already? I’m not really complaining, I love the white stuff (not the kind that goes up the nose, though). But why so much?
“This winter has featured a very active storm pattern for much of the area. This is in part due to an active El Nino, which makes more moisture available to developing low pressure systems around the east coast. Another favorable feature has been the cold air from Canada which continually makes its way south every few weeks, and allows for this extra precipitiation to fall as snow. So the combination of an El Nino pattern, and frequent cold air arriving from Canada has made this an active and bountiful snowfall season so far. With several more weeks left in winter, it appears that the Washington area is not out of the woods yet for significant snowfalls.”
So, in short, blame Canada.
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A potential big snow storm could hit the DC area Friday night into Saturday morning.