Winter Storm Warning

As expected, all areas excluding the Philadelphia region have been upgrade to Winter Storm Warnings.  Unfortunately as things begin to unfold, it looks like ice will be a major factor from late Tuesday into Wednesday.

I expect light accumulations of snow tonight with slightly more moderate snow tomorrow morning.  There will be a slight break in the action before the major storm system that will rock the central portion of the country moves in.  Enough warm air will move aloft to change the precipitation into a mixed bag.  A prolonged period of sleet Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night will cause major travel issues later in the day.  I've seen predictions of sleet accumulations up to six inches.  While that seems on the high side, it's not out of the question nor the worst thing that could happen.  That is where Wednesday morning comes in.  At some point this will all change to freezing rain, or rain that freezes to everything on contact.  Remember, the air at ground level will be colder than the upper levels. 

Wednesday is looking like a nightmare for those who have to go into work.  Truthfully, I would not recommend any travel Wednesday morning unless something with this system changes.  These types of storms that bring every type of precipitation are tremendously hard to predict.  The line between heavy snow, sleet and ice will be within a matter of 30 miles.

This has the potential to be a dangerous storm for our area simply because of the amount of ice that might accumulate.  I will be back tomorrow evening for a complete run down of everything that will be taking place including showing all the latest maps available.