Chief Meteorologist Patrick Rockey's First Warning Forecast
If you're a snow fan (and even if you're not), one of our biggest winter storms in several years is headed our way and that means most of us will be waking up to a blanket of snow on Saturday morning.
Most of the evening will be dry for much of the region. But by 8-9pm, snow will start to fall in communities near I-95 and then spread toward the coast by 11pm.
The leading edge of the snow will likely evaporate for awhile before hitting the ground. This will help moisten and cool the atmosphere. So once the snow reaches the ground, it should start to accumulate quickly.
Most of the snow will fall overnight and that's when we'll see our biggest accumulation.
But that's also when we'll see some warmer air nudge in from the south. So early snow in North Carolina will change to sleet and eventually rain.
We expect some of that warmer air to make it into the Southside of Hampton Roads, which will keep snow total a little lower than the Peninsulas and Eastern Shore. This will be especially true near the coast in Virginia Beach.
By the time you wake up on Saturday morning, snow should be letting up and then ending fairly quickly from west to east.
We're expecting 3-4 inches of accumulating snow across inland Virginia, the Peninsulas and Eastern Shore. There may be a few spots that pick up closer to 5-6 inches.
Much of the Southside will see 2-3 inches, with lesser totals across parts of Virginia Beach and southern Chesapeake.
Temperatures will climb into the upper 30s and lower 40s in the afternoon. That, combined with some sunshine will help melt some of the snow.
But our big concern is for a major refreeze Saturday night and Sunday morning. Just remember, that if it looks wet on Sunday morning, you're probably seeing ice. Be careful!
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