RICHMOND, Va. – We’ve been talking about it since last week in our regular forecast discussions, but the Arctic blast is almost upon us in Virginia. The strongest cold front of Fall thus far is surging southeast Tuesday morning, plunging temperatures 20 degrees within just a few hours of the frontal passage.
The wind flow shows the efficient transport of this cold air-mass behind the cold front (the longer green lines mean faster winds):
And then there’s the snowfall. The first big snow of the season for many Plains and Midwest states. CLICK HERE to track the snow on our Interactive Radar. Here is a selection of snowfall totals (measured in inches) as of early Tuesday morning (from NOAA):
...MINNESOTA... CAMBRIDGE 16.5 ST AUGUSTA 16.5 RUSH CITY 4 NE 15.0 STARBUCK 15.0 PRINCETON 8 SE 14.5 PINE CITY 14.0 HOFFMAN 13.0 KIMBALL 13.0 MILAN 13.0 RICE 13.0 MAPLE LAKE 7 NE 12.5 ST. CLOUD 12.1 WEST DULUTH 8.2 MSP INTL ARPT 3 SW 3.0 ...WISCONSIN... GLIDDEN 14.0 SPOONER 14.0 SPRINGBROOK 13.0 FOXBORO 12.0 GRANTSBURG 12.0 NEW POST 5 NW 12.0 SARONA 3 E 12.0 WINCHESTER 3 NE 12.0 HAYWARD 11.0 MINOCQUA 11.0 RICE LAKE 11.0 WEBSTER 11.0 SUPERIOR 7.5
...MICHIGAN... EWEN 12.0 ALLOUEZ 1 S 10.0 NATIONAL MINE 2 NW 9.7 NEGAUNEE 3 NE 9.7 SKANDIA 9.5 IRONWOOD 9.0 MARENISCO 9.0 TROWBRIDGE PARK 1 W 8.5 IRON RIVER 8.0 CALUMET 7.0 CHASSELL 1 SSW 7.0 PINE STUMP JUNCTION 6 N 7.0
Although snow is unlikely in central Virginia from this system, that cold air will drop our temperatures from around 70 degrees Wednesday to barely around 50 degrees on Thursday afternoon. Highs will stay in the 40s at best Friday through Sunday, with Saturday morning temperatures bottoming out in the 20s. CLICK HERE for forecast updates.
A second piece of upper-level energy will swing over the East Coast late Thursday, and you’ll notice the cloud-cover as that happens. There is a slim chance we could squeeze out a few rain showers, and maybe even some snowflakes Thursday night, as that energy passes over us. However, with the dry air coming in behind the cold front, that chance is very low.
We are also tracking the potential for snow Sunday morning, but there are a number of factors to consider, including the time-of-arrival of the precipitation Sunday. As I see it now, precipitation will not arrive until closer to lunch-time Sunday, favoring a cold, rainy day. However, if the system from the Southeast US arrives earlier and in sync with the cold temperatures above the ground, we could see some snowflakes falling before a changeover to rain Sunday. We’ll keep you updated on that potential. Regardless, no significant or disruptive accumulation is expected in central Virginia. The only part of the state that may see up to a few inches of snow will be the mountains of western Virginia Sunday.
Stay with CBS 6, we’ll keep you ahead of the storm.