Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Patch spoke to the National Weather Service forecast office Tuesday at noon for the latest information on the coming winter storm.
A winter storm is headed for Northern Virginia and to find out the latest timeline, Patch spoke Tuesday with meteorologist Calvin Meadows, who is with the Baltimore-Washington forecast office for the National Weather Service. Here's a timeline of what to expect, according to Meadows: A "rain-snow" line will determine which areas see more snow than others, Meadows said. "We're expecting the rain-snow line to kind of waiver back and forth over that area [Fairfax County]," said Meadows, "primarily west of I-95 and east of the Blue Ridge." "Right now, the latest information indicates that west of 95, the best-case scenario, is 5 inches of snow in Fairfax County. The worst-case is 12 inches of snow." When will the snow fall? "As far as when we…
Monday, March 4, 2013
The National Weather Service is calling for significant snow for the area.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for Fairfax Station and Northern Virginia starting Tuesday evening until Wednesday evening. Significant snow is expected to begin falling between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. A winter storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. An accumulation of more than 5 inches of snow is possible with the potential of heavy snowfall within the watch area. The NWS reports that precipitation will be mixing and changing to snow Tuesday night, with snow continuing through Wednesday evening. The weather will cause difficult driving conditions. Heavy wet snow could also cause possible power outages. NWS, however, notes that "…
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sleet, freezing rain expected from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Fairfax County for Monday from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sleet and freezing rain is expected to hit Northern Virginia during the morning rush hour, according to the National Weather Service. The precipitation is expected to develop before dawn and continue through mid-morning. Temperatures will be about 30 degrees, just under freezing. The weather service advises that "icing will produce slipper conditions on untreated roads, bridges and sidewalks, particularly during the Monday morning commute." The advisory covers the entire DC metro area. For information on driving on ice, read: Driving Tips for Winter Weather
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Dominion Power is urging their customers to be prepared with food and an emergency plan.
With a National Weather Service winter storm watch in place for Thursday morning for Northern Virginia, personnel at Dominion Power, Fairfax County Public Schools and the Virginia Department of Transportation have their eyes glued to the weather forecasts. Le-Ha Anderson, a spokeswoman with Dominion Power, said the company is making sure their trucks are gassed up and ready to respond if there are any power outages. She said the utility company has a team of meteorologists that are tracking the storm for them. “Wet snow with some wind could cause some power outages,” Anderson said. “We do urge our customers to be prepared with an emergency plan with phone numbers and nonperishable food just in case there are some outages.” As the forecast …
The storm watch begins Thursday morning.
Update 2:30 p.m. Thursday: The Winter Weather Advisory for the Washington area has been canceled. -- The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather storm watch for the Fairfax County area which will be in effect Thursday morning until late Thursday night. Heavy snow is expected during this time, accumulating to an estimated five inches. Snow may mix with rain earlier in the day and will become heavier throughout the afternoon. Snowfall is expected to end Thursday night. Temperatures will be in the lower 30s, and winds are expected to be northwest 5 to 10 mph and gusts up to 20 mph. Roads may become slick and covered in snow, especially during the evening rush hour. According to NWS, a winter storm watch means there is a potential…
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The advisory will be in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Update 12:17 p.m. - The winter weather advisory, which was originally set to expire at 1 p.m., has been extended to 7 p.m. in the DC metro area. --------------- The National Weather Service in Baltimore has issued a winter weather advisory for Fairfax County for a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. The advisory is in effect until 1 p.m. Wednesday. According to the advisory, NWS expects less than an inch of sleet accumulation, temperatures in the upper 20s to lower 30s and north winds at 10 to 20 mph and gusts up to 35 mph. The weather conditions can cause treacherous travel conditions. NWS advises motorists to be prepared for slippery roads and limited visibilities.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
National Weather Service issues freeze watch areas west and north of D.C.; temperatures to be in the 30s across much of Fairfax County.
UPDATE: The National Weather Service has added Fairfax County to the Freeze Watch for Friday night going into Saturday morning. "Fairfax is now under the Freeze Watch too," said National Weather Service meteorologist Christopher Strong, in an e-mail to Patch. "The general theory of a watch is that there is a 50 percent chance or better than it's going to happen, and then a warning when we are nearly certain." The earliest freeze (32 F) at Dulles Airport (est. 1962) was Sept. 24, 1983, Strong said. The latest was Nov. 11, 2005, he noted. If there is a freeze, "we would be a little early, but not too far off a typical first freeze date." --- The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for late Friday night into Saturday morning …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Northern Virginia's extreme weather started last winter, meteorologists say.
Derechos, blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms, extreme heat...is there any wacky weather Northern Virginia hasn't seen in recent years? This past summer saw enough 100-plus degree days to make 2012 the most intense in 141 years of record-keeping according to the Capital Weather Gang. “Starting from this past winter, we had temperatures that were much above normal,” said Ken Widelski of the National Weather Service. “It was an abnormally warm winter, followed by a cooler than normal spring and we definitely had our periods of hot weather over the summer.” As for this June's derecho, it’s typical climatologically for this area to see a derecho every couple of years, Widelski explained. What was unique about this year's derecho was the …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
National Weather Service also issues hazardous weather warning for Fairfax County, metro region.
Update 2:07 p.m.: A flash flood watch has also been issued for Fairfax County until 8 p.m. Tuesday. Fairfax County says The county keeps a list of roads that historically flood and urges drivers to avoid them when warnings and watches are issued. Click here to see which of these roads are near your neighborhood. Original: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Fairfax County and the entire metro region until 7 p.m. Tuesday. The tornado watch, meaning there is a potential for tornadoes to develop, comes on top of a hazardous weather outlook the service issued earlier this morning. "Showers and thunderstorms are expected along and ahead of a cold front through this evening. Heavy downpours could lead to localized flash …
Friday, August 31, 2012
The weather in the greater Alexandria area should be sunny through Saturday.
The National Weather Service is forecasting sunny skies through Saturday with a chance of thunderstorms on Labor Day. The chance of showers begins Saturday evening and runs through the middle of next week. The forecast for Labor Day is a high of 86 degrees with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. The weather for Friday and the daytime on Saturday is expected to be sunny with highs in the low to mid-90s. There is a 30 percent chance of showers Saturday night and a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms on Sunday with a high of 86 degrees. The wet weather is expected to continue into next week, according to the weather service. There is a 30 percent chance of precipitation Tuesday and a chance of showers Wednesday, with highs in the 80s both …
Florence Eilola
1:54 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
I'd rather have snow than that rain-sleet-ice mix ! more ›