Round #2 of our spring snowstorm starts a little slow this Wednesday but looks to pick up pretty quickly as the morning and afternoon roll on. Winter Storm Warnings remain in place for the entire television coverage area until 8pm this evening. Once again this simply means upwards of 4-8" of snow is likely to fall creating tricky travel concerns. If we manage to pick up these amounts we would rival heavy march snowfall totals that date back to 2015 and even the big storm of 1993. All of the ingredients seem to be coming together with this phase of the storm but will they be able to pack the full punch since it is now Spring which means sun angle is higher and ground temperatures are warmer to limit those concerns.
------TIMING------
Most locations remain in a split between a lull with a little sleet and steady snow kicking back in. Snow, sleet and freezing rain continue through 8am this morning. Heavy snow picks up from there and carries us well into Wednesday afternoon as some decent lift pushes over the area to squeeze out that snow. Within the band of lift we could see snowfall rates of 1-2"/hr which will easily get us to those totals of 4-8"+. If the snow comes down this heavy even with high March sun angle problems can still occur.Temperatures though will be the biggest factor here in determining the precipitation type. Most of us will see readings steady in the 30s while others to our south touch 35 degrees.
------HIGHEST SNOW AMOUNTS------
Snow totals are from what fell yesterday Tuesday March 20, 2018 and today March 21, 2018 Wednesday. These totals are included with the sleet and freezing rain combined.
The PA/MD State Line will see the best chance of substantial accumulating snow without mixing, especially Cecil, northern Baltimore, and northern Harford Counties. These areas could see anywhere from 6-8" of snow with localized pockets of 8"+ west of Cockeysville/Parkton/Manchester and north of Elkton/Cecilton.
Around Baltimore and I-95 we could see a slushy 4-8" with a little more as you head out toward Towson, Catonsville, White Marsh, and Bel Air. Annapolis over to Chestertown and Cecilton likely to see amounts closer to 5-8" with more sleet/rain mixing in initially. Some of the higher elevations in these areas likely to see localized heavier amounts above 8".
The highest elevations of Allegany and Garrett counties will see the highest amounts of accumulating snow especially from Cumberland/Flintstone points east to Grantsville/Oakland/Deep Creek. These areas could see anywhere from 8-12" + of snow with localized pockets of 16-24"+ above 2,500 ft. Travel will be quite difficult in these locations and power outages will be likely.
NEXT WEEK
The forecast remains active with another coastal storm in the forecast by the weekend ahead. Highs expected to be at or below average. A pattern more indicative of mid to late February.
