Winter Storm Warnings are now in place for the entire television coverage area until late Wednesday afternoon.This simply means that most of us will see accumulations over 3" including what is on the ground from today. Yes we have seen our fair share of rain, sleet, and snow today but "Mother Nature" has shown all of her cards just yet. Surprisingly we are talking our first real heavy snow of the 2018 season on the first day of Spring which is somewhat rare in these parts. The last time this happened was back in 1965 where we picked up a little over 4.1" of snow. All of the ingredients seem to be coming together with this one 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------
The mixed bag of precipitation continues to move through the area after this afternoon and turns heavy between 1am-7am Wednesday. Most locations will continue as a mix as the system continues to track to the northeast. Snow will turn heavy with the secondary low cruising up the coast early Wednesday morning. With road temperatures slightly above freezing given the high March sun angle, snow should have a difficult time accumulating initially before snow coverage takes over. 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------
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 4-6" 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 4-5" with more sleet/rain mixing in initially.
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 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.
