Oh, hey winter! Brief period of wet snow possible early Wednesday morning

Winter tries at the very last minute to make a comeback, but the warm spring soil will likely foil its efforts.

A brief period of wet snow will be possible

ROANOKE, Va. – Monday started with severe storms and flooding. Wednesday will likely start with a period of wet snow in parts of the area. That just goes to show the volatility of April weather in this part of the country.

We’ve certainly cooled down since Monday, and we’ll continue to do so Tuesday night. After highs in the 50s, temperatures around midnight will be in the 40s. That leaves a disturbance moving into the area with little to work with. Any snow we see before midnight will be confined to the west-facing slopes of West Virginia.

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Most snow will be on the higher west-facing slopes

Eventually, that colder air aloft will mix down to ground level. While air temperatures for most of us will be around 33-38° Wednesday morning, that colder air above will allow wet snowflakes to survive to the surface.

A brief period of wet snow will be possible

However, a lot of us won’t see much (if anything) amount on the ground. The ground is too warm and wet, plus this system will be moving through quickly.

It would have to come down in buckets for us to see a blanket of white on the ground that lasts more than 30-60 minutes. The best chance of 1″ or more is going to be in West Virginia and in parts of Bath and Highland Counties, as well as perhaps Afton Mountain. Most other parts of the Roanoke and New River Valleys will see anything from nothing on the ground to maybe a dusting. The better chance of anything more than a dusting will be above the 2,500 foot level.

The better chance of any real snow accumulation will be higher up in elevation Wednesday morning

It may just be enough to start a conversation, rather than really have any sort of impact on your day Wednesday. We’ll be breezy and cool with increasing sun Wednesday. Once the breeze dies down at night, temperatures fall into the 30s. That leaves us with the chance for some patchy frost both Thursday and Friday mornings.

Patchy frost possible Thursday and Friday mornings

Temperatures each day will stay below average through the rest of the week, with the 60s eventually making a comeback by Friday and into early next week.

Temperatures stay well below average for much of this week

We’ll just have to dodge some rounds of showers occasionally.


About the Author

Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today.

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