Several Rounds of Wintry Precip Likely through Monday Morning

 Expected impacts:

• Freezing drizzle and occasional light freezing rain or sleet will continue at times through about 12 Noon on Sunday with ice and/or sleet accumulation of generally less than 0.1 inch
• Freezing rain and sleet will increase around 12 Noon on Sunday and continue through about 3-4am Monday, then change mostly to snow and continue through about 9am Monday
• Ice accumulation of around 0.1 inch is expected for most of the area with 0.1-0.2 inch possible in some spots mainly from 12 Noon Sunday to 9pm Sunday
• Sleet accumulation of around 0.5 inch is expected for most of the area with 0.5-1.0 inch possible in some spots mainly from 6pm Sunday to 4am Monday
• Snow accumulation of 1-2 inches is expected for most of the area with 2-3 inches possible in some spots mainly from 4am Monday to 9am Monday

Discussion:

...Now through 12 Noon Sunday...
Freezing drizzle and occasional periods of light freezing rain and/or sleet will continue at times through about 12 Noon on Sunday. There may be a brief uptick in the activity at times from around 6pm today to around Midnight tonight, otherwise, the majority of the activity is expected to generally be light and spotty during the period.

Ice accumulation of generally less than 0.1 inch is expected for most of the area throughout the period.

...12 Noon Sunday through 9am Monday...
Freezing rain and sleet will increase around 12 Noon on Sunday and continue through about 3-4am Monday. The freezing rain and sleet may fall heavily at times on Sunday afternoon and especially on Sunday evening, resulting in rapidly deteriorating conditions across most of the area.

The wintry mix will change mostly to snow around 3-4am on Monday and continue through about 9am Monday. The snow may fall heavily at times during this time period, especially right around dawn on Monday morning.

Ice accumulation of around 0.1 inch is expected for most of the area with 0.1-0.2 inch possible in some spots mainly from 12 Noon Sunday to 9pm Sunday.

Sleet accumulation of around 0.5 inch is expected for most of the area with 0.5-1.0 inch possible in some spots mainly from 6pm Sunday to 4am Monday.

Snow accumulation of 1-2 inches is expected for most of the area with 2-3 inches possible in some spots mainly from 4am Monday to 9am Monday.

...Expected Impacts...
For the lighter rounds of precipitation today, tonight and Sunday morning, the primary concerns will be light glazed icing on bridges, overpasses, metallic and other colder/elevated surfaces. This will create hazardous travel conditions at times, especially on the flyovers and other elevated roadways across the area (similar to what we would typically see with a "freezing drizzle" type event).

The increase in freezing rain and sleet on Sunday afternoon and evening will result in the rapid deterioration of road and other conditions across the area. Many roadways are likely to become impassable, and travel is highly discouraged. Elevated roadways will deteriorate first, followed by secondary roadways and then many primary roadways across the area.

Northerly winds of 15-25 mph with gusts of 30-35 mph may create areas of blowing snow at times, especially in more open areas with a direct exposure to a Northerly wind early on Monday morning. Additionally, what is likely to be the presence of accumulated ice followed by accumulated snow combined with the gusty winds may result in the downing of tree limbs and power lines in at least some parts of the area, which will increase the risk of power outages in the affected areas.

Temperatures will remain well below freezing following the event, bottoming out in the single digits early on Tuesday morning, and not rising above freezing (briefly) until after 12 Noon on Wednesday. This means that the accumulated ice/snow will remain across the area from Monday afternoon through at least Wednesday, which could further hamper efforts to restore power to areas with outages from the storm. As a result of this, we highly recommend that preparations include making sure to have an alternate heating source should your primary source fail as a result of the storm and/or the cold temperatures creating demand that some gas/electric companies cannot fully meet.

...Additional Information on Next Week...
We are also monitoring the potential for another round of wintry precipitation from Tuesday night/pre-dawn Wednesday into the day on Wednesday. Additional details will be provided as we further evaluate the situation.