Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Winter's Grasp

Snowpack is beginning to melt slowly this afternoon as the mercury in Morgantown reads 38 degrees in the last hourly report. This will be an important factor as winds begin to pick up and more steady precipitation in the form of a rain/snow mix, changing to all snow this evening adds to an already busy week of winter weather cleanup. This afternoon’s above freezing temps will allow snow to continue to melt from tree branches reducing the likelihood of fallen branches and downed power lines. Still, the combination of very moist soil and high winds Wednesday means that fallen trees/tree limbs and more power outages could still threaten our area over the next 24-48 hours. Look for 2-4 inches of accumulation through tonight once precipitation changes to all snow. Conditions will become breezy overnight and snow showers will continue through Wednesday, producing an additional 3-4 inches in most areas. Snow showers will begin to taper off Thursday as high pressure moves quickly through the area. The cold air trend continues Friday through the weekend. It looks like we’ll finally have some dry weather Friday and Saturday, although we may get clipped by some brief lake effect snow overnight Saturday/Sunday morning. A stronger low pressure system will pass overnight on Sunday, producing snow showers for the beginning of next week. Temps will warm up a few degrees for Tuesday.