First snowfall of season hits the Appalachian area, including the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley, VA – In the early morning hours, it started to snow here, and it is continuing. There are no signs of the snow letting up soon. Currently, there is about three to four inches of snow on the ground. Visibility is about 100 – 150 yards. The sky is white and you cannot see the nearby mountains. The sun is expected to come out tomorrow.
We just learned that The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Augusta, Rockingham, Highland, Shenandoah, Page, Warren and Pendleton counties. The rest of the area is under a Winter Weather Advisory. Both weather alerts start Saturday morning and lasting through Saturday evening.
In the Valley, snow is expected to continue to fall as we go into the evening as temperatures drop rapidly throughout the day. Snow accumulations around five to eight inches are possible. Cold temperatures will last through Sunday night with more sun for Sunday. Sunny and seasonal to start next week and another chance for rain/snow on Tuesday night and then rain possible on Wednesday.
Remember that The mountains in Shenandoah National Park are usually 10 degrees cooler than the valley below.
Today, Weather.com reports that all up and down the I-95 corridor, the coastal storm will swing north and move up the eastern Seaboard today spreading precipitation from south to north across the eastern half of the region this morning. By this afternoon colder air is expected to infiltrate the region on cooling winds from the north.
They report: “What will start out as rain or a rain snow mix will change over to snow from Virginia northward into New England. The heaviest snow totals from this storm will be found generally just west of I-95. Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York will see snow accumulations on the order of 1 to 3 inches with some of their western suburbs receiving slightly more snow.”
Boston and Providence are expected to get accumulation, too – up to about 4 inches or more. Temperatures in Virginia are generally expected to be in the thirties today. It’s likely that some holiday festivities will likely be cancelled or postponed.
First-hand reports
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