Weather is hard to pin down for Friday. As of now I am certain some freezing rain and sleet will occur in the valleys and most places that have snow pack may see some sleet at the onset of the pecip. The warm air should overwhelm the colder air and turn the sleet and freezing rain to rain for most places except the Blue Ridge valleys. This will need some monitoring as there may be some slippery roads. Interestingly enough, as cold air filters in at the end of the storm, a turn to snow may occur across the northern areas Saturday! The only accumulations would be the mountains.
I have been repeating the same thing over and over and I cannot stress it enough… clear out paths away from your house so that the melting snow and now rain can drain away from your house. If you have not done this, resolve to do it today. People in town home communities should make sure that the drains are free so that the rain can drain and will not cause pools of water that could flood!
What does the future hold? I am now not so sure of the Arctic outbreak I was before. There are some other signs of a relaxing of the pattern and maybe some warming the first week or two of January! So what will it be? I am not as clear as I was and will have more thoughts in the next several days.
To see a cool Picture of the recent Blizzard from space check out http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/east-coast-blizzard-from-space?npu=1&mbid;=yhp
So to sum up – Valleys and northern regions should see a glaze of some ice Friday – likely a winter weather advisory criteria, but I would not be surprised to see Winter Storm Watches posted first Thursday Morning for Friday in Areas along the Immediate Piedmont and mountains of areas from Roanoke to the Pennsylvania/Maryland Border! I am a little more worried about flooding at this point than freezing rain and sleet, but that could change some.
All for now!
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