DELMARVA FORECAST
Thursday night: *Cold Weather Advisory* Mostly clear and cold. Lows in the single digits. Wind chills near 0°F.
Friday: Gradually increasing clouds. Cold. Highs in the mid 20s. Wind chills in the teens.
Saturday: Cold, with snow, mostly at the coast and over Accomack County. Windy. Winds from the north could gust to 25 mph or more. Highs in the low to mid 20s. Wind chills in the single digits. Chance of snow 60 percent.
Sunday: Cold, with snow, mostly at the coast and over Accomack County. Very windy. Winds from the north-northwest could gust to 40 mph or more; 50 mph gusts are possible at the coast. Blowing snow. Highs in the mid 20s. Wind chills in the single digits. Chance of snow 40 percent.
Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 30s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Normal high: 46°F. Normal low: 28°F.
Arctic high pressure remains in charge over Delmarva, with continued cold conditions that will persist into Friday and the weekend.
Cold Weather Advisories are posted again for all of Delmarva Thursday night for dangerous cold with wind chills dropping to 0°F or less at times.
Friday continues cold, but with increasing clouds ahead of our next weather-maker, which will be a winter storm this weekend.
However, this winter storm looks like it will stay far enough offshore that significant snow will likely be confined to coastal areas and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where 6 inches of snow or more is possible.
Most of the rest of Delmarva will only see modest snow accumulations, on the order of 3 inches or less, with lower amounts as you head north and west. This will be a dry, fluffy snow.
Of more significant concern will be gusty winds and extreme cold. During the weekend, winds from the north could gust up to 40 mph over land, and up to 50 mph at the coast. This could lead to lots of blowing snow reducing visibility. I don't want to rule out the possibility of blizzard conditions at the coast as visibility could fall below ¼ mile at times.
The cold will be even more brutal than it has been in recent days this weekend. With overnight lows falling to the low teens, the wind will make it feel like near -10°F at times. During the day, the wind chills will often only be in the single digits.
Milder temperatures are in the forecast for next week, but they will still be well below normal, in the low to mid 30s Monday through Wednesday.
In the long range, temperatures are expected to average below normal, and precipitation below normal for February 5 - February 11.