MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first winter weather maker of the year will land overnight, bringing very different conditions across the state.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Matt Brudy said the Winter Weather Advisory will be in effect from midnight Monday through 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. The heaviest snowfall is expected to hit between 4 and 9 a.m., according to Brudy.
“The biggest impact is going to be for the morning commute because we’re expecting the bulk of it to fall roughly between the 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. timeframe,” Brudy said.
This snow will be a wet snow, making removal and driving a challenge. Snowfall could begin just after midnight and could change to mixed precipitation as the system moves through.
“This snow will be a little on the wetter side, so take it easy when you’re shoveling and especially driving during the morning commute tomorrow because it’s going to be slick,” Brudy said.
Brudy said he is relatively certain most ice accumulations will occur in the higher elevations across the region.
“It should be mostly confined to the higher elevations, but I can’t rule out it leaking into some of the lower elevations,” Brudy said. “We’re expecting the most ice, or at least a glaze of it, in the mountains of Tucker and Preston County and the Laurels in Pennsylvania.”
Thursday another batch of unsettled weather will move into the region, bringing a chance for more snowfall. Brudy said they are looking at the next system that will land early this weekend, but it’s still too early to forecast. But, he said, temperatures will remain winter-like with highs in the mid-30s and lows in the 20s.
“We’re generally looking at light accumulations right now,” Brudy said. “Another system for early this weekend that we’re trying to iron out the details on.”
There have been no official predictions for a white Christmas yet, but Brudy said the models are leaning toward the probability we will have one.
“From the middle to the end of December we’re leaning a little below normal for temperatures and a little above average for precipitation,” Brudy said. “Maybe that could point to an unsettled pattern with some snow and colder temperatures around.”