The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Washington, DC, most of Maryland, and much of Virginia from 11pm Saturday through 4am Monday, calling for a widespread 7 to 14 inches of snow across the warning area. The image above shows the latest maps from the four major local television networks.
While the overall message from forecasters is clear that a significant storm is likely, the four major local TV networks are showing some differences in their snowfall projections, particularly across the DC metro area. Sleet and/or freezing rain are expected to fall for much of the area following the snow.
For the immediate DC region, NBC4 is forecasting 6 to 10 inches or more, while FOX5 is showing a broader 6 to 12 inch range. ABC7 has 6 to 10 inches as the most likely outcome, and WUSA9 is also placing the metro area in the 6 to 10 inch plus range. Taken together, all four networks are clustering around a solid plowable snowfall, but with enough uncertainty to allow totals to trend higher if the storm strengthens or slows.
North and west of the metro area, the higher end potential becomes more pronounced. NBC4 and WUSA9 both show areas in the 10 to 14 inch plus range, while FOX5’s forecast map highlights a corridor with potential totals of 12 to 18 inches. A period of sleet and/or freezing rain is expected starting late Sunday morning after the snow has fallen that can lead to hardened blocks of ice in unplowed/unshoveled areas.
View this post on Instagram
