* Winter weather advisories issued for northern Fauquier, Loudoun, northern Montgomery, Howard, Frederick and Carroll counties from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday | School delays and closings *
Express forecast
- Today: Rain changes to snow this morning, then clearing, windy. Highs: Near 45.
- Tonight: Mostly clear, breezy. Lows: 26-34.
- Tomorrow: Sunny, breezy. Highs: 42-48.
Forecast in detail
A departing storm should throw some wet snow at us this morning before departing this afternoon and leaving behind lots of wind. The rest of the week is relatively tranquil with a warming trend into Thursday and Friday before a chance of light precipitation on Saturday. Seasonably nice weather returns for Sunday and Presidents’ Day.
Today (Tuesday): Early morning rain should gradually mix with and shift to wet snow from northwest to southeast across the area before ending between 10 a.m. and midday. Snow could briefly fall heavily between about 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., reducing visibility and perhaps causing some slushy roads, especially in colder parts of the region. The accumulation, mainly on grassy areas, probably ranges from up to an inch or two in our far north and west suburbs to a wet coating around the District and to the south. Skies clear and it becomes blustery in the afternoon but highs climbing well into the 40s should quickly dispense with any snow that sticks. Gusty winds also help dry us out as they blow from the northwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts as high as 30-40 mph. Confidence: Medium
Tonight: Clearing, colder, and still breezy with lows from the mid-20s to mid-30s. Winds from the northwest at 10-20 mph with gusts up to 25 mph at times. Confidence: High
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Tomorrow (Wednesday): Sunny and still breezy with highs ranging through the 40s. Winds are still blowing from the northwest at 10 to 15 mph with some gusts up to 20-25. Confidence: High
Tomorrow night: Mostly clear with lows from the mid-20s to low 30s with lighter winds. Confidence: High
A look ahead
Thursday should start on the sunnier side, but then clouds increase during the day as highs rebound into the milder upper 40s to mid-50s. Partly cloudy Thursday night with lows in the 30s. Confidence: Medium-High
Friday returns partly to mostly sunny skies with highs reaching the mid-40s to near 50 again. Friday night becomes mostly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s to low 30s. Confidence: Medium
The start of the holiday weekend is tricky as a weak weather system rolls through. Saturday leans cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers possible. No significant accumulation is anticipated. Highs are expected to range through the 40s. Saturday night could still see a rain or snow shower under partly to mostly cloudy skies as lows range from the upper 20s to mid-30s. Sunday and Presidents’ Day Monday feature mostly sunny conditions with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. Sunday night is clear with lows in the 20s to low 30s. Confidence: Low-Medium
Snow potential index
A daily assessment of the potential for at least 1 inch of snow in the next week, on a 0-10 scale.
3/10 (↑): If precipitation is heavy enough, we could sneak a slushy inch or so in our colder areas this morning; any chances for snow after that look pretty weak.
