arlwx12

Eyeballs estimated about 4-4.5 inches in Arlington VA before the sleet? arrived a bit before 8 am. Didn't see-hear any pingers, though- maybe the teeny specks are rimed?

Been awake since 2 am (thank you tea). Fox weather was doing special broadcasting at 4 am. DC TV channels 4, 5 and 9 kicked in at 6 am with coverage, including their closures lists. Channel 4 estimated another 6 inches for the DC metro, while channel 5 thought there would be 3-5 inches added. Almost time to see what channel 7 will say.

Eyeballing out my window in Arlington, looks like 2 1/2 inches on fencetops. Just MAYBE my Hill of Doom has been plowed, but hard to tell. Visibility down to 1/2 mile, or maybe a bit less.

And the 815 ice forecast called for 0.16" in DC.

LWX's 816 am forecast now calls for 8 inches expected in Washington.

OPM has gone to Monday maximum telework in the DC area. Those who were scheduled to work in the DC area but are not teleworkers get safety leave. More details: Current Status

I discovered WJLA has an online listing of "DC-area" closings and delays: Closings

In the DC area, the first local TV newscast on Saturday will be Channel 4 WRC at 6 am. Channel 7 WJLA will start its local news show at 8 am, and may show closings again.

Home | Fairfax County Public Schools | Fairfax County, Virginia | Fairfax County Public Schools They say a decision will be made on Sunday about Monday school and activities.

Channel 9 WUSA tried to label this storm "Sleetzilla".

Channel 7 WJLA in the DC metro is showing already church and school closures, including DC public schools and all the way out in Culpeper County. There were a couple of "going virtual" announcements as well.

My big questions for MY street are: Will they pretreat it? (no sign so far) Will they plow during the storm? When will they try to make a car path? If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are no, I expect to be entertained by MY Hill of Doom as people Think that they can drive up it. (In that case, if they don't have four wheel drive, people should stay away or stay home.) If there's a decent amount of snow, maybe some kids will try sledding down the steep parts. Or maybe people will think it's too cold for that.

Room also in LWX's forecast for DCA: Saturday Night Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 17. Northeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. Sunday Snow, freezing rain, and sleet. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 27. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow and sleet accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. Sunday Night Snow, freezing rain, and sleet before 10pm, then snow and freezing rain between 10pm and 4am, then a chance of snow after 4am. Low around 20. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow and sleet accumulation of around an inch possible.

What the local TV is saying at 430 am for the immediate DC area: Channel 4: in the 6-12 band Channel 5: in the 6-12 band Channel 7: NAM 8, GFS 13 Channel 9: will depend on how much mixing

Noon TV guesses (I guess for snow) for the immediate DC metro area: Channel 7: 8"-12"as low as Channel 9: 8"-12" The last NWS maps I saw were 9" expected, 10% less than 3", 10% more than 11" (I don't think that adds in the slop)

LWX is forecasting 7F for Friday overnight and a high of 17F for Saturday.

Darn it- where did I put the s***fence? I need it to wrap around myself and DCA, on the off chance that the s*** tries to give me a special delivery...

As a warminista, I'm hoping that NCEP's GFS claims for the 18th turn out to be pure RAIN, if anything at all.

DCA finally hit 32 at 0515.

More NWS map reports: American Legion Bridge hit 33 Springfield hit 32 Fort Belvoir hit 29

Airport low readings: DCA 37 BWI 30 IAD 28

From the latest NWS discussion: (snip) .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Large scale troughing will persist over the eastern CONUS through the first half of next week. This troughing will be reinforced by a powerful cold front Sunday. The amount of available moisture is somewhat in question. There is the potential for showers or even a few low-topped gusty thunderstorms, but overall rainfall amounts look light (0.25" or less). The bigger story will be the cold airmass in the wake of this front. Temperatures are likely to fall below freezing west of I-95 amid northwest breezes by early Monday morning, with 20s expected over the higher elevations. Wind chills likely dip to near or below freezing areawide by daybreak Monday, with teens or even single digits above zero for wind chills on the higher peaks. The chill will continue during the day Monday as cold air advection continues. Despite breaks of sun and downsloping west/northwest winds, high temperatures probably won`t escape the 40s on Monday, and may remain in the 20s and 30s for the higher elevations. Combined with the wind, it will probably feel more like the 30s all day (teens/20s for the higher elevations). A widespread freeze is expected Monday night into Tuesday morning. This would end the growing season where it remains active along the I-95 corridor. Similarly cool high temperatures are forecast for Tuesday, with moderating temperatures by Wednesday. Although most of the area will remain dry, the first accumulating upslope/mountain snow event is looking increasingly likely for areas along and west of the Allegheny Front Sunday night through Tuesday. It is too soon to speculate on specific amounts, but the potential is there for the season`s first plowable snow. (snip)

As a warminista, I would love to predict zeros across the board. However, I'm afraid the weather knows where I am, so... BWI: 16.0 DCA: 14.0 IAD: 18.0 RIC: 8.0 Tiebreaker SBY: 8.0

Thunder and rain in Crystal City.

BWI 37 at 0600.