Substantial snowfall possible Thursday
On the heels of a strong southwest flow event which left the area under more snow and sleet this Tuesday into Wednesday morning, a low pressure system is forecast to develop late Wednesday into Thursday and deliver another round of snow. This time, it looks more significant in terms of snowfall accumulations. As a cold front sinks south of the area Wednesday, mid level energy will shift from the Central United States eastward, forcing the development of a low pressure system from the Southeast States into the Mid Atlantic.
A thermal gradient, or baroclinic zone, will be positioned from the Ohio Valley through the Mid Atlantic and Northeast, serving as a highway for the development of precipitation. As the mid level jet dynamics are enhanced Thursday, snow will become more widespread throughout the Mid Atlantic and Northeast United States. On the northern periphery of the forcing for moderate to heavy precipitation, a band of moderate to heavy snow is likely to develop.
Programming Note: We will have a Storm Total Snowfall forecast for release around 11:00pm tonight.