Looking Even Further Back

Here are the maps from last year's big snow on March 1st and 2nd where the metro received roughly 6 to 10" of snow- this will help to put things in perspective. Notice the rigorous upper low in the south (moisture source and lift) merging forces with the trough to the north (which provided the cold air). This system started as rain, then switched to heavy snow. You can find these maps at the folowing link:

http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/

A Look Back At Previous Storms

As another potentially massive snow storm threatens the Mid-Atlantic, I think now is a good time to look back on our two previous storms and see what kind of tracks they took. Here are the upper air and surface maps for our January 29th storm which blanketed our area with a powdery snow.





Now here are the maps from February 5th and 6th, where a storm brought a mix of wet snow and heavy rain early on, then heavy snow at the end.

Windy Friday!

Winds overnight in Central Virginia remained a bit gusty in the 20-30 mph while a strong Nor'easter continues to spin over Connecticut. The low will drift a little west over northern New Jersey today, keeping a strong flow from the west and northwest over Virginia. While the low remains in our vicinity today, there may be snow showers in primarily northern Virginia and the Northern Neck, but with surface temperatures climbing into the 40's today, it will be too warm for any of that snow to stick around. This storm will gradually weaken this weekend, relaxing the tight pressure gradient over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.