Baltimore is bracing for a medley of weather hazards starting today and stretching into early next week, as the National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC reported. We're looking at a combo of potentially damaging post-frontal winds, a smattering of wintry mix precipitation, and concerns about heavy rainfall and flooding. Mother Nature isn't making any promises about taking it easy on us in the coming days.
According to the bulletin, high pressure hitting the road this morning makes way for a low-pressure system that's going to bulk up over Arkansas and march its way northeast, pulling a warm front up through the area tonight into tomorrow morning, followed by a brash cold front slicing across the area on Sunday afternoon, this is the part where things start to get dicey, as warmer air initially causes precipitation to start as snow or sleet this morning, especially north of I-66/US-50. Still, it will switch to rain by this afternoon once temperatures rise above freezing.
It's not just the cold we must worry about, though—the real kicker comes from the freezing rain expected to hit higher elevations. According to the National Weather Service, the potential for a glaze of ice up to a quarter-inch thick in the loftier landscapes has put the Blue Ridge, Catoctins, and parts of Allegany and Garrett Counties on the ice watch list.
On the flip side of the coin, areas lower down are expected to be showered in regular old rain from tonight through Sunday morning, but hold your horses because when Sunday afternoon hits, we've got 'strong cold advection and northwesterly winds' throwing a punch, with a side of convectively-enhanced damaging wind gusts and a slim chance of isolated tornadoes, especially to our friends south towards MD right ahead of the cold front – talk about a moody atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Alleghenies might see near-blizzard conditions when high winds link arms with upslope snow late Sunday into Monday, so those areas are looking at a blanket of 3-6 inches of new snow during that time.
The winds relax slightly at the start of the week, but what about the temperatures? They're diving headfirst, with Arctic high-pressure ushering in some seriously chilly vibes, all this while an upper pattern that's ominously tasking itself with keeping a lid on things just to the north. Fast-forward to Wednesday, and we're eyeing another potential coastal brouhaha that could whip up a big winter storm, with the National Weather Service predictions suggesting this could mean significant snowfall; however, with it being a few days out, there's a healthy dose of "let's wait and see" in the mix. Whatever the case, conditions for aviation and on the waters are set to be rockier, with gusty conditions and VFR dropping out quicker than a lead balloon – and the potential for Wednesday snow is already causing side-eye glances at the skies above.
