Two snow chances in the next three days. In order to see snow we need two things, moisture and cold air. We could see both through the first half of the work week.
A cold front moved through the region overnight and will linger to our south over the next several days, keeping our temperatures near or below the freezing point. A small area of low pressure will slide north along the front bring moisture into the area. We will likely see scattered snow showers this afternoon, primarily for the Southside and NE NC. Snow showers should be light and fast moving. Accumulation will be limited to 1/2” or less with most of the area seeing a dusting or less.
The front will lag farther south on Tuesday, allowing more sunshine to mix in but still cold, with highs only in the mid 30s. We could see a rain/sleet mix for the southern Outer Banks on Tuesday but most of the area will stay dry.
A Winter Storm Watch for the Outer Banks has been issued from Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon
The big focus of the workweek is Wednesday. Another area of low pressure will move up the coast bringing in a rain/sleet/snow mix for much of NC and VA. The biggest question mark with this system will be the location of the rain to sleet to snow transition line. As of now that line will transition from east to west across Hampton Roads and NE NC through Wednesday afternoon. Where and when that line moves through will have a big impact on how much snow we see. For example: If this system were all rain we could easily see over 1” of rain. If this system were all snow we could see double digit snow totals. The monkey wrench is that for Hampton Roads and NE NC it will not be all rain or all snow but a blend. As of now, the highest snow totals will likely be along I-95 and west, where they will see all or mostly snow. We will likely see a sharp transition from significant accumulation near Richmond to minimal snow accumulation along the coast.
Warmer air will nudge in on Thursday bringing mostly rain to the area. As the area of low pressure moves up the coast the rain will move north. We could see a little sleet mix in as the systems exits but as of now, those chances are limited.
