Forecast: A sampling of snow today; much colder this weekend

*Winter Weather Advisory for N&W burbs (Montgomery, Loudoun, Howard, n. Fauquier) from 10 a.m.-noon to 8-10 p.m. (see map)*

Today's Daily Digit

 

A somewhat subjective rating of the
day's weather, on a scale of 0 to 10.

 

Discuss
on

Potentially just enough snow to satisfy those craving it - and to mess with the p.m. commute.
 
Get the 'Digit' on Twitter

Today: Snow or rain/snow mix develops late a.m. or early p.m. Upper 30s to low 40s early, then falling. | Tonight: Snow ends during evening. Upper 20s to low 30s. | Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. Mid-40s. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

Will winter 2011-12 deliver a major winter storm? Maybe, but not today. We do get ourselves a taste of the white stuff, though, starting between late morning and early afternoon. Light to moderate snow, possibly starting as or mixing with rain from D.C. to the south and southeast, might be just enough to whiten the ground for some, and cause some evening commute headaches as well. The sun is back tomorrow with much colder weather awaiting us this weekend.

Snow Potential Index: 6 (↑) - Today is best chance over the next week for a little accumulation, especially north & west of D.C.

 

The SPI is a daily assessment of the potential for accumulating snow for the next week on a 0-10 scale. Get the 'SPI' on Twitter

 

Today (Wednesday): Cloudy skies and a light but chilly breeze from the northeast set the stage for some light to moderate snow today, possibly starting as or mixing with rain from D.C. to the south and southeast. Start time for the precipitation is approximately 11 a.m.-2 p.m. from west to east, with the heaviest around 3-7 p.m. Morning to midday temps in the upper 30s to low 40s should drop to the mid-to-low 30s as precipitation picks up later in the afternoon and likely changes to all snow. Precipitation should exit from west to east around 6-9 p.m.

Accumulation potential ranges from a trace to around 0.5” mainly on grass south and southeast of D.C., to up to around 1-2” in the north and west suburbs where roads could be slick for the evening commute. See accumulation map to the right for more details. Confidence: Medium

Tonight: The snow, or rain/snow mix south and east, should depart from west to east around 6-10 p.m. Some roads may be slippery, especially north and west of D.C., as evening temps hang out in the low-to-mid 30s. Skies start to clear overnight or toward morning with lows in the upper 20s to low 30s. Confidence: Medium

For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...

Tomorrow (Thursday): Some morning slipperiness is possible north and west of town. Otherwise, we’re back to mostly sunny skies and near-average temperatures. Highs top out in the mid-40s with a bit of a breeze (10-15 mph) from the northwest. Probably enough sun to melt away most of any snow accumulation we see today. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow night: Pretty much what you’d expect heading toward mid-February. Under partly to mostly clear skies, lows dip to the mid-20s to low 30s (suburbs to city). Confidence: High

Another relatively mild winter day is in store Friday, as mostly sunny skies lift highs to the upper 40s to low 50s. Maybe a snow shower Friday night as a cold front comes through with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lows bottom in the upper 20s to mid-30s. Confidence: Medium

Clouds could linger Saturday morning along with the chance of a snow shower, followed by clearing afternoon skies. Winds probably blow at a fairly good clip from the northwest, bringing in a noticeably colder air mass. Highs may only manage the mid-30s to low 40s with wind chills mainly in the 20s. That leads us to a very cold Saturday night with lows in the teens to low 20s. Confidence: Medium

High pressure dominates most of the eastern half of the nation on Sunday. The result for us is plenty of sun, but highs only in the 30s and still some chilly breezes to deal with. Confidence:Medium