Storm updates...

Nowcast

1:00pm: At 12:30, radar showed snow continuing across the DC metro area, with additional snow extending to the southwest to well south of Charlottesville, which was reporting light snow. This area of snow was moving generally toward the northeast. The rain/snow line has remained fairly steady since early morning just north of Richmond on I-95 and extending northeastward. Ft. Belvoir was reporting moderate snow and the other local reporting stations had light snow. Besides Charlottesville, other VA stations reporting snow included Staunton and Lynchburg with light snow and Roanoke with moderate snow. In MD, snow was light at Baltimore and Andrews AFB, moderate at Annapolis. The wind at Cape Hatteras was from the north-northwest and the barometer was steady, indicating that the storm continues to move gradually away.
We will continue to see snow through the afternoon in most of the area. Depending on the intensity of the precipitation and the amount of mixing with sleet or rain, snowfall amounts will be on the low end of our predictions.
Scroll down to the bottom of Jason's post below for the latest on closings and other useful links.

Background

Here's a dirty little secret: Momma Nature runs a sloppy kitchen down at her Weather Grill. She hasn't been cited for any code violations lately, not since she got that honking new supercomputer to help keep track of things, but it does get a bit out of hand there at times. The staff is very temperamental, and they don't always see eye to eye. It was an especially rowdy scene recently. All weekend long, the European chefs were arguing with the American ones over which recipe to use. The ingredients were on hand in large quantities for an exceptional meal, the biggest event of the season in the mid-Atlantic region:

• crispy cold air
• ripe, juicy tropical moisture
• some of the liveliest vorticity (energy) on the planet

But, there was hot dispute over exactly what to prepare. The Europeans were in favor of a more wintry menu, with low pressure staying off the coast and colder air giving snow for us. The Americans favored a more traditional springtime menu, with the low pressure area moving inland and warmer air giving us rain. Tempers flared; the Europeans became so upset that they began threatening to keep the low so far out to sea that there wouldn't be enough heavy snow to satisfy all the customers who had made reservations because they were counting on a snow day. As time wore on, though, the Europeans began to convince the Americans of their point of view. Finally, Momma herself stepped in to settle things once and for all, but it was too late to get new menus printed with all the latest details. We'll just have to listen carefully as the waitpersons recite the daily specials.

We'll keep you continually updated as things develop. Remember our motto, "We keep hitting the page reload button so you don't have to!"

However the forecast turns out from your point of view, here's a bit of humor from the Washington Post's Style Invitational contest:
What's the definition of "Chiropractors-Christmas", taken from a page heading in the Yellow Pages directory?
"A forecast of freezing rain and heavy, wet snow."

History

11:30am: At 11am, radar showed snow continuing across the DC metro area. Rain and showers were over the lower Chesapeake Bay and middle Eastern Shore. None of the official reporting stations in the immediate area were reporting anything heavier than light snow, but Charlottesville, Staunton, Lynchburg and Roanoke in VA all had moderate snow. In west-central Montgomery County, grassy areas are whitish, but mostly green/brown; streets are wet. Temperature has dropped about 1/2 a degree to just a bit above 32. The wind at Cape Hatteras was straight north and the barometer had stopped falling at 29.27" (991 mb). This indicates that the storm is beginning to move away from the coast.
10:00am: At 10am, radar shows snow continuing to break out across the DC metro area. At the official reporting stations, flurries at 9am had become light to moderate snow, with visibilities as low as 1/2 mile reported at Ft. Belvoir. Here in west-central Montgomery County, a light flurry which began shortly before 8 has given way to steadier and heavier snowfall, enough to moisten the pavement and begin to whiten some bare ground in the last 15 minutes. Temperature is just a fraction below 33. One interesting spot to watch as this storm continues to develop is Cape Hatteras, which has been reporting strong NE to NNE winds. The barometer there continues to drop at a pretty good rate, down 5 mb (.15") in the last 3 hours to 991 mb (29.27").