The storm system moving into the area on Wednesday will have a ton of moisture to work with, and while this will be a deep snow for a small area of the state, that won’t be the case for the rest of the Commonwealth.
This storm would be one for the record books if we had colder air in place, but we’ll end up losing a lot of potential accumulation to melting, as snow will likely be falling into surface temps in the range of 34 to 38 degrees for quite a while.
Temperatures a few thousand feet up are not particularly cold, so frictional drag won’t be as efficient in cooling the lower levels when it snows heavily as it is in other storm systems.
The cold pool aloft will, however, be very cold, likely producing a few lightning strikes and the always exciting thunder-snow.
The graphic below shows my expectations for this winter storm. Click here to go to my Facebook page for more frequent updates as the system moves into the Commonwealth.
As of this update, Richmond is not included in any Watches or Advisories, but that will probably change. CLICK HERE for the latest Watches, Warnings and Advisories map.
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