An arctic cold front will continue to push southward into North Carolina overnight and stall off the southeast coast. A wave of low pressure will form along the front and move northeast. High-pressure to the north will keep cold air locked in place as precipitation moves along the front Friday night and moves offshore by early Saturday morning.
Late Friday Afternoon / Friday Evening
Snow will develop late Friday afternoon into Friday evening across Lower Hampton Roads. The snow will be light to occasionally moderate at times during the evening hours. Some sleet or freezing rain may mix in with the snow across Northeast North Carolina. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s to lower 30s.
Friday Night
The heaviest snow will likely fall from 11:00 p.m. Friday night to 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The best chance to see heavy snow will be from Franklin – Newport News – Cape Charles line and points southeast into Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Winds will become quite gusty with wind gusts near 40 mph from the Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to Virginia Beach.
Saturday Morning
By early Saturday morning, snow will move offshore, however, it will remain windy throughout much of the day. Wind gusts could still approach 40 mph along the coast. Temperatures will range from the mid-20s inland to near 30 degrees along the coast.
Snowfall Forecast
Our current snowfall forecast has the 1-inch line from a South Hill – Petersburg – West Point – Kilmarnock line. It’s possible that the snow could creep further northwest, but the edge of the precipitation will be dealing with very dry dewpoints, preventing the snow from creeping northward.
Impacts:
Snow rates could approach one inch an hour, especially across Lower Hampton Roads and into Northeast North Carolina. It will be windy across all of Hampton Roads with wind gusts 20 to 25 mph inland and 30 to 40 mph gusts along the coast. While some coastal flooding is possible, some locations will experience minor flooding. Expect slick elevated surfaces, bridges, and overpasses. Main highways will also become slick during the heaviest snow.
