Wintry weather on tap for Hagerstown on Thursday. Here's what to expect
A winter storm that's already clobbered parts of the West Coast and is expected to cause severe weather — from snow to tornadoes — across the United States this week will arrive in the Interstate 81 corridor on Thursday.
But at this point, it's tough to tell whether it will bring rain, snow or some other wintry precipitation, National Weather Service meteorologists said Monday.
"Taking a look at it, Hagerstown is on that threshold of trying to gain certainty," said Chesnea Skeen, a meteorologist with the weather service's Sterling, Virginia, office. "It's likely there will be some freezing rain. Along the Blue Ridge, east of there is where you'll probably get rain. So definitely freezing rain is possibility."
Steve Travis, a meteorologist with the weather service's State College, Pennsylvania, office agreed. The impact on Franklin County, Pennsylvania, could change by the time the storm front reaches the region.
"The general overview is that it will be impacting us early Thursday morning, lingering through the day, and lasting into Friday," Travis said of the greater Chambersburg area. "In that general area, it could be warmer and mostly rain. But Thursday morning, there could be a period of snow, then changing over to sleet or freezing rain, then changing over to rain during the day."
When will it snow?
No matter what kind of precipitation Mother Nature decides to drop, both meteorologists agreed the morning commute Thursday could be tricky.
Skeen and Travis advised those driving that morning to use caution, especially if the temperatures are at or near freezing, as was expected as of Monday morning.
"If you know it’s going to be hazardous, try to stay home," Skeen said.
The storm is expected to last into Friday morning. Though temperatures could be a little warmer that day as compared to Thursday, Skeen said it was possible that parts of Washington County could see a little snow because of its proximity to the mountains.
Though it's still too early to be sure, the forecasters said Thursday's high temperature will be in the low- to mid-30s, and Friday's will be in the upper 30s to lower 40s.
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Travis warned that Saturday could have highs in the 30s, but the temperature isn't likely to escape the 20s on Sunday.
"It's still few days out," he said.
How unusual is it to have such a big storm impacting the country?
Though every time zone of the Lower 48 is seeing or going to see some severe weather from the storm, it's not that unusual, especially this time of year, Travis said.
He said that as the front moves across the United States, areas to the north will likely see snow and blizzard conditions, such as the northern Plains and around the Great Lakes. Those on the southern side of the front — places like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas — could see severe weather.
A low pressure on the East Coast will meet the front early Thursday, influencing the weather in the I-81 corridor.
What kind of weather are other parts of the nation seeing?
The winter storm headed toward the nation's interior after smashing parts of Southern California with more than 7 inches of rain and blasting the Golden State's mountains with up to 5 feet of snow.
Almost 15 million people in more than a dozen states faced foul weather warnings or watches Monday. Blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.
"Heavy precipitation and strong winds continue across the western region" as the storm continues to track inland, the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center warned.
More than 6,000 U.S. flights were delayed Sunday, and over 1,100 more had been delayed or canceled by 9:30 a.m. Monday.
AccuWeather forecasters say over a foot of snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions are expected in the northern Plains to start this week before potentially dumping substantial amounts of snow in portions of the Midwest.
Contributing: John Bacon and Thao Nguyen, USA Today
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Winter weather expected Thursday in Hagerstown, I-81 corridor
