Weather Update 5:35 PM

A batch of light rain is currently moving across central Virginia. This round of showers should exit in the next hour or two then spotty drizzle and mist will linger into tonight.

New Year's Eve Forecast Update

A few scattered light rain showers will be possible this evening and overnight in Central Virginia, but the widespread rain from earlier today has exited to the east. All Winter Weather Advisories are also expired now. Patchy fog and mist will continue this afternoon with high temperatures in the upper-30's and low-40's.

Much colder weather is expected to blast into the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. Winds will be in the 20-30 mph range Saturday and Sunday from the Northwest, advecting in much colder air for the first days of 2010.
Here's a recap of some of the winter weather reports this morning in Virginia:
Ice:
Charlottesville 0.20"
Reston 0.10"
near Dulles International 0.10"
Warrenton 0.10"
Standardsville 0.05"
Herndon 0.03"
Massaponax 0.02"
Rixeyville 0.01"

Snowfall:
Covington 3.2"
Craigsville 2.6"
Blacksburg 2.3"
Winchester 2.1"
Staunton 1.3"
Galax 1.0"
Luray 1.0"
Linden 1.0"
Sperryville 0.2"

Rain Tapering Off

Rain continues to taper off this morning in Central Virginia after a mix of freezing rain and light snow fell overnight in parts of the area, and temperatures are now rising above freezing. Most precipitation was light, and led to only minor ice accumulations. The Winter Weather Advisories have been lifted for southwestern parts of the area, but remain in effect for these counties:

A few scattered light rain showers will be possible through the day today, but rain chances will remain low. Overnight, a few showers may occur pre-Dawn.

Slick Conditions Possible This Morning

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for the counties highlighted in purple until 1 p.m. Thursday. The outlined area is where a light winter mix of precipitation is falling and will continue to fall this morning. As of 7 a.m., a mix of freezing rain and light snow is affecting these counties. However, even spots as far southeast as Richmond have had freezing rain this morning. This will lead to slick spots while temperatures remain at or below freezing at the surface.