I N F I N I T Y W I N T E R ?
Three weather words for the weekend:
Monsoon, Whiteout, Glacier. See below for updates.
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FOR MARVEL FANS, EVEN THAT VIBRANIUM-INFUSED SHIELD MAY NOT BE ENOUGH PROTECTION FROM THE WICKED RAIN, SNOW & COLD THAT'S COMING. Update as of 5:30 AM ET Thu 1/17 |
- THU PM - FRI AM: For most areas from the DC metro to Baltimore metro & the PA line- Light accumulating snow is expected late this afternoon into the PM commute. Snow may fall at a moderate pace for several hours, continue overnight and being tapering toward daybreak. At least 1.0" of snow is likely, and with recent snowpack in place, a chilled surface may reduce loss of the first 1/2", providing for many areas to reach 2" or slightly more. Below is Mount. Airy, MD in Carroll County as representative location for the region, to indicate timing and general amounts.
- SATURDAY ( THE MONSOON) For most of the region, precip begins as rain and snow mixed or a period of snow, then turns to mostly rain as temperatures rise well above 32 F ahead of an Arctic front. Late Saturday into Sunday, potentially torrential rain is possible during embedded cells. Up to 1.5 inches of liquid is possible in this period.
- SUNDAY (THE WHITEOUT?) As the Arctic front crosses the area, temperatures near 40 F around Noon will rapidly drop to the low teens before midnight. Rain in the morning will switch back to snow by 2 PM and could become heavy at times, producing even whiteout or blizzard-like conditions. Have your umbrella, popcorn and water proof phone ready for the weathertainment to come. THEN, all that leftover water seeping everywhere across roads, parking lots, sidewalks and your front step? It will FLASH FREEZE and be a solid block of ice before daybreak. This sets the stage for...
- MONDAY (THE GLACIER!) With temps between 5-10 F, and no pre-treatment on roads, and all that water having frozen, it's a good thing Monday is a holiday. We think most area roads will be a complete sheet of ice. The safest thing to do is stay home if you don't have to work. With temperatures holding below 20 F until late Tuesday, we wonder how road & grounds crews will prepare buses, lots and sidewalks given that salt treatment generally is much less effective at very low temperatures.
- BY THEN, YOU'LL HAVE a Captain America or Wonder Woman-level of fortitude to conquer the Infinity Winter that is coming next... (Click image for a larger version)
And if you're a snow plow operator, you'll be saying this a lot the next 2 weeks.