Maybe the road salts are becoming suspended in air as fine particulates which is lowering the freezing point of water. Maybe that's why our winters have sucked for the past 3 years because of so many airmasses that are too warm for snow.
I think this winter is the winter that we just don't get lucky at all in my woods. I'll come back to this post and expose myself in a few weeks if we get a HECS.
Even with this cold pattern change we could still end up with barely anything this winter if the storm tracks are always north and just cold rain here. When was the last time that my area had much below normal snowfall despite it being cold and stormy because of a northerly track and having incredibly bad luck timing it right?
It does look pretty cold, after the fact next weekend, and it looks like a fast mover with some very cold air so any melted snow will freeze over. It won't be long before it snows again.
NE MD gets absolutely pummeled this run. 6-8'' with 10:1 ratios, but it's likely to be higher initially because of the super cold airmass to the north.
One thing is for sure: The pattern will change sometime this week, and it will possibly get quite cold along with many snow chances. This looks like a 3-4 week deal and done.