Quick-hitting March snow to streak across mid-Atlantic Thursday night, Friday

By Kyle Elliott, AccuWeather meteorologist

The same storm system that will bring several inches of snow to parts of the Midwest through Thursday is forecast to pester parts of the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic with lighter snow from Thursday night into Friday.

Although the system will weaken and become more disorganized as it moves east of the Ohio River Valley, there will still be enough moisture and energy associated with it to bring some snow to the mountains of West Virginia, western Virginia, Maryland and southwestern and south-central Pennsylvania late this week.

"Due to the weak nature of the system, snowfall amounts in most locations will generally be on the order of a coating to an inch or two," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said.

He added that the exception may be in the mountains of West Virginia and western Maryland, where up to 3 inches may accumulate. 

"Snowfall accumulations will be affected by the time of day due to afternoon temperatures above freezing and a sun angle equivalent to early October," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

It is in areas that receive snow late Thursday night into the mid-morning hours on Friday that can become most susceptible to travel delays and slippery spots on interstates and secondary roadways.

"Where snow manages to streak eastward first thing Friday morning along the I-66, I-70 and I-76 corridors is where there may be just enough snow to make for a slippery morning rush hour from northern Virginia to northern and western Maryland and southwestern Pennsylvania," Sosnowski added.

In the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and Philadelphia, snow is not forecast to arrive until later Friday morning or early Friday afternoon.

Because the air will have most, if not all of, the morning to warm up in these major cities, temperatures will be near or slightly above freezing during the period of light snow. In addition, rain can mix in with the snow south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

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"The relatively mild air, combined with the light intensity of the snow and the high sun angle, will create generally wet roadways and sidewalks from southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland to southern and central New Jersey later on Friday," according to Adamson.

"There could be a coating of snow on non-paved surfaces in these same areas during Friday afternoon," Sosnowski added.

Regardless of timing and snowfall amounts, the biggest issues from this system should occur in the higher terrain and on secondary roadways, bridges and overpasses that typically remain a few degrees cooler than interstates and more heavily traveled roads.

Snow will rapidly come to an end along the mid-Atlantic coast during the first part of Friday night, but a much stronger storm system will bring heavy snow to the northern Plains and a severe weather outbreak to the Deep South this weekend.

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