ROANOKE, Va. – Saturday Morning Update
Weather Authority Alert Day -- Cleared as of Jan. 11, 9a.m.
Friday Morning Update
Moisture and cold air continue to be funneled into the southeast Friday morning. Snowfall becomes prevalent for the Commonwealth starting Friday afternoon.
Snow potential remains very high as we head into the evening and overnight.
Here is a look at the timeline for this event. The start time for snow is at about 2 p.m. for the New River Valley and approximately 5 p.m. for the Roanoke Valley and Highlands. Lynchburg and Southside snowfall will move in right around sunset. A few flurries and showers are possible prior to the bulk of the snow moving in.
Most will see between 1 and 4 inches of snow over the course of this event. Some will see between 3 and 5 inches of snow with the possibility for isolated areas to receive slightly more!
Thursday Morning Update
The overall setup for Thursday has our next storm deepening over the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture and cold air are being sucked up as this system treks east.
The timing of impacts has been pushed forward a couple of hours since our update on Wednesday. Impacts will be seen as early as 2 p.m. Friday as this system looks to move quickly across the mid-Atlantic.
Here is a look at 3 p.m. Friday. Light rain, a brief mix and snow showers will be moving in.
By 10 Friday night, snow showers dominate the region with a few areas of wintry mix moving from west to east.
Most of the precipitation is gone by sunrise on Saturday morning. A few residual snow showers are possible through the day, but skies begin to clear in the morning hours.
The current odds of seeing 1 inch of snow have increased. These values are expected to continue to increase throughout Thursday as computer models become more aligned and fresh data is plugged into them.
Our official snowfall forecast remains the same and can be found at the bottom of the article!
Wednesday Afternoon Update
As we progress through the rest of the week, a Winter front gathers itself. Moisture from the Gulf coast will be scooped up, and cold air from up north will be pushed south. These two ingredients will bring Winter precipitation for areas across the central and eastern portions of the Country.
Winter weather will begin in the late afternoon and early evening hours for the mid-Atlantic. A couple of rain showers and a light wintry mix is possible at the very beginning of the event. Then, we transition to snow, and stay will snow showers through the morning hours of Saturday.
Warmer temperatures may sneak in from time to time and provide chances for a wintry mix along our southern and eastern counties. Though this is possible, snow will dominate precipitation totals.
Here is a look at 6:00pm Friday. Notice the chance for rain and a light mix leading the charge, then a huge swath of snow showers.
Snow showers continue through the night. Below is a look at the early morning hours Saturday morning.
A few reminders to give yourself a little bit more time and space when driving in snow. There may also be a small layer of ice on some roads from the prior ice we received earlier in the week.
The current odds of seeing 1 inch of snow are really favorable. We do expect the odds to increase as model guidance continues to show consistent amounts of snow totaling to a few inches.
By the time it is all said and done, the amount of snow we see will be fairly consistent from neighborhood to neighborhood. Most are expected to see between 2 and 4 inches, with the potential for some areas to see up to 6 inches of snow.
Below is our official snow total forecast. Again, most areas see roughly 1-4 inches of snow with isolated spots like the mountains racking up a little more than others.
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