ROANOKE, Va. – It's been nice to see some sunshine these past few days, along with seasonably cool air. Bottle that up while you can! We'll break this article down into three parts; 1) Sunday's forecast 2) Tuesday's snow chances and 3) Arctic air moving back in.
1. Sunday's Forecast
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Some of the colder air will be bottled up above the 3,000 foot level throughout the day. With a northwest wind and a little moisture, that will mean mainly some mountain snow.
That's the case for places like Mount Rogers/Whitetop, Mountain Lake, some higher spots in Bath and Highland Counties, and of course - Quinwood and Snowshoe.
For most of us, Sunday will be dry once again. However, we will see some more cloud cover. Despite the increase in clouds, temperatures should be fairly seasonable during the afternoon.
2. TUESDAY'S SNOW CHANCES
A strong cold front will sweep through the area Tuesday, bringing with it the chance for some rain and snow. Precipitation will start off fairly light in the mountains Tuesday morning, before advancing east in the afternoon. We may see some early cancellations for area schools Tuesday, if this timing comes to fruition.
The best chance for accumulating snow will be along and west of the Blue Ridge Parkway, though we don't anticipate a major winter storm.
East of the Parkway, we think most will see anywhere from 0-1" of snow. If a smaller low pressure system can form along this front, snow could spread farther east and bring totals up just a tick.
As colder air pours in, any rain or snow on the road will turn to ice. Be sure to stay tuned with us, as we track the progression of this system and potential impacts to road conditions.
3. Arctic Air Moving Back In
Chances are, you've heard it's going to get really cold in the middle of the week. Thankfully, from a forecasting perspective, data is coming into agreement on the timing of it all.
We'll turn really cold and pretty windy at times Wednesday, meaning that morning lows in the teens will feel even colder than that. Highs will struggle to reach the freezing mark Wednesday.
As high pressure sits on top of us, we expect the air temperature to fall into the single digits with sub-zero wind chills for many by Thursday morning. Despite sunshine, Thursday will only be in the 20s during the day.
We'll gradually start to thaw out, as we approach next weekend. Be sure to keep checking back for updates, both on the Tuesday snow chances and the bitter cold that follows. We'll be with you every step of the way on air, online, on social media and on the StormTeam 10 app.